Korean folk tales: imps, ghosts and fairies

KOREAN IMPS
GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

KOREAN FOLK TALES

IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

TRANSLATED FROM THE KOREAN

OF IM BANG AND YI RYUK

BY JAMES S. GALE

LONDON : J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK : E. P. DUTTON & CO. 1913

Ah rights reserved

TO

MY LITTLE SON

GEORGE JAMES MORLEY

THE DAYS OF WHOSE YEARS

ARE
TWO EASTERN SPRINGS AND AUTUMNS

PREFACE

To any one who would like to look somewhat into
the inner soul of the Oriental, and see the peculiar
spiritual existences among which he lives, the
following stories will serve as true interpreters, born
as they are of the three great religions of the Far
East, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

An old manuscript copy of Im Bang's stories
came into the hands of the translator a year ago,
and he gives them now to the Western world that
they may serve as introductory essays to the
mysteries, and, what many call, absurdities of
Asia. Very gruesome indeed, and unlovely, some
of them are, but they picture faithfully the condi-
tions under which Im Bang himself, and many past
generations of Koreans, have lived.

The thirteen short stories by Yi Ryuk are taken
from a reprint of old Korean writings issued last
year (1911), by a Japanese publishing company.
Three anonymous stories are also added, " The Geo-
mancer," to show how Mother Earth has given
anxiety to her chicks of children ; " Im, the

viii PREFACE

Hunter," to tell of the actualities that exist in the
upper air ; and " The Man who lost his Legs," as a
sample of Korea's Sinbad.

The biographical notes that accompany the
stories are taken very largely from the Kuk-cho
In-mul-chi, "Korea's Record of Famous Men."

J. S. GALE.

CONTENTS

I CHARAN I

II THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG . . 1 8

III A STORY OF THE FOX .... 26

IV CHEUNG PUK-CHANG, THE SEER . . .29

V YUN SE-PYONG, THE WIZARD ... 36

VI THE WILD-CAT WOMAN . . . .41

VII THE ILL-FATED PRIEST . . . -44

VIII THE VISION OF THE HOLY MAN ... 47

IX THE VISIT OF THE MAN OF GOD. . . 52

X THE LITERARY MAN OF IMSIL . ... 54

XI THE SOLDIER OF KANG-WHA ... 58

XII CURSED BY THE SNAKE 60

XIII THE MAN ON THE ROAD .... 63

XIV THE OLD MAN WHO BECAME A FISH . . 66
XV THE GEOMANCER 69

XVI THE MAN WHO BECAME A PIG . . • 73

XVII THE OLD WOMAN WHO BECAME A GOBLIN . 78

XVIII THE GRATEFUL GHOST 80

XIX THE PLUCKY MAIDEN . . . . .83

XX THE RESOURCEFUL WIFE . . .90

XXI THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR .... 92
XXII THE MAN WHO LOST HIS LEGS . . . IOO

XXIII TEN THOUSAND DEVILS .... 104

XXIV THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES . . .Ill
XXV THE HONEST WITCH 12$

ix

CONTENTS

XXVI WHOM THE KING HONOURS

XXVII THE FORTUNES OF YOO

XXV11I AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOBGOBLIN

xxix THE SNAKE'S REVENGE

XXX THE BRAVE MAGISTRATE .

XXXI THE TEMPLE TO THE GOD OF WAR

XXXII A VISIT FROM THE SHADES

XXXIII THE FEARLESS CAPTAIN

XXXIV THE KING OF YOM-NA (HELL) .

xxxv HONG'S EXPERIENCES IN HADES

XXXVI HAUNTED HOUSES

XXXVII 1M, THE HUNTER

XXXVIII THE MAGIC INVASION OF SEOUL

XXXIX THE AWFUL LITTLE GOBLIN

XL GOD'S WAY ....

XLI THE OLD MAN IN THE DREAM .

XLII THE PERFECT PRIEST

XLIII THE PROPITIOUS MAGPIE .

XLIV THE 'OLD BUDDHA' .

XLV A WONDERFUL MEDICINE .

XLVI FAITHFUL MO .

XLVII THE RENOWNED MAING

XLVI1I THE SENSES ....

XLIX WHO DECIDES, GOD OR THE KING?

L THREE THINGS MASTERED

LI STRANGELY STRICKEN DEAD

LII THE MYSTERIOUS HOI TREE

LIU TA-HONG .

2IO
211
213

2'5
217
219

BIOGRAPHICAL

IM BANG was born in 1640, the son of a provincial governor.
He was very bright as a boy and from earliest years fond of
study, becoming a great scholar. He matriculated first in his
class in 1660, and graduated in 1663. He was a disciple of
Song Si-yol, one of Korea's first writers. In 1719, when he was
in his eightieth year, he became governor of Seoul, and held
as well the office of secretary of the Cabinet. In the year 1721
he got into difficulties over the choice of the Heir Apparent, and
in 1722, on account of a part he played in a disturbance in the
government, he was exiled to North Korea, where he died.

(From Kuk-cho In-mul-chi, " Korea's Record of Famous
Men.")

Yl RYUK lived in the reign of King Se-jo, matriculated in
1459, and graduated first in his class in 1564. He was a man
of many offices and many distinctions in the way of literary
excellence.

" Korea's Record of Famous Men."

XI

KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND
FAIRIES

i

CHARAN

[SOME think that love, strong, true, and self-
sacrificing, is not to be found in the Orient; but the
story of Charan, which comes down four hundred
years and more, proves the contrary, for it still has
the fresh, sweet flavour of a romance of yesterday ;
albeit the setting of the East provides an odd and
interesting background.]

In the days of King Sung-jong (A.D. 1488-1495)
one of Korea's noted men became governor of
Pyong-an Province. Now Pyong-an stands first
of all the eight provinces in the attainments of
erudition and polite society. Many of her literati
are good musicians, and show ability in the affairs

of State.
B

2 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

At the time of this story there was a famous
dancing-girl in Pyong-an whose name was
Charan. She was very beautiful, and sang and
danced to the delight of all beholders. Her ability,
too, was specially marked, for she understood the
classics and was acquainted with history. The
brightest of all the geisha was she, famous and
far-renowned.

The Governor's family consisted of a son, whose
age was sixteen, and whose face was comely as a
picture. Though so young, he was thoroughly
grounded in Chinese, and was a gifted scholar. His
judgment was excellent, and he had a fine apprecia-
tion of literary form, so that the moment he lifted
his pen the written line took on admirable expres-
sion. His name became known as Keydong (The
Gifted Lad). The Governor had no other children,
neither son nor daughter, so his heart was wrapped
up in this boy. On his birthday he had all the
officials invited and other special guests, who came
to drink his health. There were present also a
company of dancing-girls and a large band of
musicians. The Governor, during a lull in the ban-
quet, called his son to him, and ordered the chief of
the dancing-girls to choose one of the prettiest of
their number, that he and she might dance together
and delight the assembled guests. On hearing this,
the company, with one accord, called for Charan,

CHARAN 3

as the one suited by her talents, attainments and
age to be a fitting partner for his son. They came
out and danced like fairies, graceful as the wavings
of the willow, light and airy as the swallow. All
who saw them were charmed. The Governor, too,
greatly pleased, called Charan to him, had her sit on
the dais, treated her to a share in the banquet, gave
her a present of silk, and commanded that from
that day forth she be the special dancing maiden to
attend upon his son.

From this birthday forth they became fast friends
together. They thought the world of each other.
More than all the delightful stories of history was
their love — such as had never been seen.

The Governor's term of office was extended for
six years more, and so they remained in the north
country. Finally, at the time of return, he and his
wife were in great anxiety over their son being
separated from Charan. If they were to force them
to separate, they feared he would die of a broken
heart. If they took her with them, she not being
his wife, they feared for his reputation. They could
not possibly decide, so they concluded to refer the
matter to the son himself. They called him and
said, "Even parents cannot decide as to the love
of their son for a maiden. What ought we to do?
You love Charan so that it will be very hard for
you to part, and yet to have a dancing-girl before

4 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

you are married is not good form, and will interfere
with your marriage prospects and promotion.
However, the having of a second wife is a common
custom in Korea, and one that the world recognizes.
Do as you think best in the matter." The son
replied, "There is no difficulty; when she is
before my eyes, of course she is everything, but
when the time comes for me to start for home she
will be like a pair of worn shoes, set aside ; so please
do not be anxious."

The Governor and his wife were greatly delighted,
and said he was a "superior man " indeed.

When the time came to part Charan cried bitterly,
so that those standing by could not bear to look
at her; but the son showed not the slightest sign
of emotion. Those looking on were filled with
wonder at his fortitude. Although he had already
loved Charan for six years, he had never been
separated from her for a single day, so he knew not
what it meant to say Good-bye, nor did he know
how it felt to be parted.

The Governor returned to Seoul to fill the office
of Chief Justice, and the son came also. After this
return thoughts of love for Charan possessed
Keydong, though he never expressed them in word
or manner. It was almost the time of the Kam-see
Examination. The father, therefore, ordered his
son to go with some of his friends to a neighbour-

CHARAN 5

ing monastery to study and prepare. They went,
and one night, after the day's work was over and
all were asleep, the young man stole out into the
courtyard. It was winter, with frost and snow and
a cold, clear moon. The mountains were deep and
the world was quiet, so that the slightest sound
could be heard. The young man looked up at the
moon and his thoughts were full of sorrow. He
so wished to see Charan that he could no longer
control himself, and fearing that he would lose his
reason, he decided that very night to set out for far-
distant Pyong-an. He had on a fur head-dress,
a thick coat, a leather belt and a heavy pair of
shoes. When he had gone less than ten lee, how-
ever, his feet were blistered, and he had to go into
a neighbouring village and change his leather shoes
for straw sandals, and his expensive head-cover for
an ordinary servant's hat. He went thus on his
way, begging as he went. He was often very
hungry, and when night came, was very, very cold.
He was a rich man's son and had always dressed
in silk and eaten dainty fare, and had never in his
life walked more than a few feet from his father's
door. Now there lay before him a journey of
hundreds of miles. He went stumbling along
through the snow, making but poor progress.
Hungry, and frozen nearly to death, he had never
known such suffering before. His clothes were

6 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

torn and his face became worn down and blackened
till he looked like a goblin. Still on he went, little
by little, day after day, till at last, when a whole
month had gone by, he reached Pyong-an.

Straight to Charan's home he went, but Charan
was not there, only her mother. She looked at
him, but did not recognize him. He said he was
the former Governor's son and that out of love for
Charan he had walked five hundred lee. "Where
is she?" he asked. The mother heard, but instead
of being pleased was very angry. She said, "My
daughter is now with the son of the new Governor,
and I never see her at all ; she never comes home,
and she has been away for two or three months.
Even though you have made this long journey
there is no possible way to meet her."

She did not invite him in, so cold was her wel-
come. He thought to himself, "I came to see
Charan, but she is not here. Her mother refuses
me; I cannot go back, and I cannot stay. What
shall I do ? " While thus in this dilemma a plan
occurred to him. There was a scribe in Pyong-
an, who, during his father's term of office, had
offended, and was sentenced to death. There were
extenuating circumstances, however, and he, when
he went to pay his morning salutations, had be-
sought and secured his pardon. His father, out of
regard for his son's petition, had forgiven the

CHARAN 7

scribe. He thought, "I was the means of saving
the man's life, he will take me in;" so he went
straight from Charan's to the house of the scribe.
But at first this writer did not recognize him.
When he gave his name and told who he was, the
scribe gave a great start, and fell at his feet making
obeisance. He cleared out an inner room and made
him comfortable, prepared dainty fare and treated
him with all respect.

A little later he talked over with his host the
possibility of his meeting Charan. The scribe said,
" I am afraid that there is no way for you to meet
her alone, but if you would like to see even her face,
I think I can manage it. Will you consent ? "

He asked as to the plan. It was this : It being
now a time of snow, daily coolies were called to
sweep it away from the inner court of the Gover-
nor's yamen, and just now the scribe was in charge
of this particular work. Said he, "If you will join
the sweepers, take a broom and go in ; you will no
doubt catch a glimpse of Charan as she is said to
be in the Hill Kiosk. I know of no other plan."

Keydong consented. In the early morning he
mixed with the company of sweepers and went with
his broom into the inner enclosure, where the Hill
Kiosk was, and so they worked at sweeping. Just
then the Governor's son was sitting by the open
window and Charan was by him, but not visible

8 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

from the outside. The other workers, being all
practised hands, swept well ; Keydong alone handled
his broom to no advantage, knowing not how to
sweep. The Governor's son, watching the process,
looked out and laughed, called Charan and invited
her to see this sweeper. Charan stepped out into
the open hall and the sweeper raised his eyes to
see. She glanced at him but once, and but for a
moment, then turned quickly, went into the room,
and shut the door, not appearing again, to the
disappointment of the sweeper, who came back irr
despair to the scribe's house.

Charan was first of all a wise and highly gifted
woman. One look had told her who the sweeper
was. She came back into the room and began to
cry. The Governor's son looked in surprise and
displeasure, and asked, " Why do you cry ? " She
did not reply at once, but after two or three insistent
demands told the reason thus : " I am a low class
woman ; you are mistaken in thinking highly of me,
or counting me of worth. Already I have not been
home for two whole months and more. This is a
special compliment and a high honour, and so there
is not the slightest reason for any complaint on my
part. But still, I think of my home, which is poor,
and my mother. It is customary on the anniversary
of my father's death to prepare food from the
official quarters, and offer a sacrifice to his spirit,

CHARAN 9

but here I am imprisoned and to-morrow is the
sacrificial day. I fear that not a single act of
devotion will be paid, I am disturbed over it, and
that's why I cry."

The Governor's son was so taken in by this fair
statement that he trusted her fully and without a
question. Sympathetically he asked, "Why didn't
you tell me before ? " He prepared the food and
told her to hurry home and carry out the ceremony.
So Charan came like flaming fire back to her house,
and said to her mother, " Keydong has come and 1
have seen him. Is he not here? Tell me where
he is if you know." The mother said, "He came
here, it is true, all the way on foot to see you, but
I told him that you were in the yamen and that
there was no possible way for you to meet, so he
went away and where he is I know not."

Then Charan broke down and began to cry.
"Oh, my mother, why had you the heart to do so
cruelly? " she sobbed. "As far as I am concerned
I can never break with him nor give him up. We
were each sixteen when chosen to dance together,
and while it may be said that men chose us, it is
truer still to say that God hath chosen. We grew
into each other's lives, and there was never such
love as ours. Though he forgot and left me, I can
never forget and can never give him up. The
Governor, too, called me the beloved wife of his

10 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

son, and did not once refer to my low station. He
cherished me and gave me many gifts. 'Twas all
like heaven and not like earth. To the city of
Pyong-an gentry and officials gather as men
crowd into a boat; I have seen so many, but for
grace and ability no one was ever like Keydong.
I must find him, and even though he casts me aside
I never shall forget him. I have not kept myself
even unto death as I should have, because I have
been under the power and influence of the
Governor. How could he ever have come so far
for one so low and vile? He, a gentleman of the
highest birth, for the sake of a wretched dancing-
girl has endured all this hardship and come so far.
Could you not have thought, mother, of these
things and given him at least some kindly wel-
come ? Could my heart be other than broken ? "
And a great flow of tears came from Charan's eyes.
She thought and thought as to where he could
possibly be. "I know of no place," said she, "un-
less it be at such and such a scribe's home." Quick
as thought she flew thence, and there they met.
They clasped each other and cried, not a word was
spoken. Thus came they back to Charan's home
side by side. When it was night Charan said,
"When to-morrow comes we shall have to part.
What shall we do?" They talked it over, and
agreed to make their escape that night. So Charan

CHARAN 11

got together her clothing, and her treasures and
jewels, and made two bundles, and thus, he carry-
ing his on his back and she hers on her head,
away they went while the city slept. They followed
the road that leads toward the mountains that lie
between Yang-tok and Maing-san counties. There
they found a country house, where they put up, and
where the Governor's son became a sort of better-
class servant. He did not know how to do any-
thing well, but Charan understood weaving and
sewing, and so they lived. After some time they
got a little thatched hut by themselves in the village
and lived there. Charan was a beautiful sewing-
woman, and ceased not day and night to ply her
needle, and sold her treasures and her jewels to
make ends meet. Charan, too, knew how to make
friends, and was praised and loved by all the
village. Everybody felt sorry for the hard times
that had befallen this mysterious young couple, and
helped them so that the days passed peacefully and
happily together.

To return in the story : On awaking in the morn-
ing in the temple where he and his friends had
gone to study, they found Keydong missing. All
was in a state of confusion as to what had become
of the son of the Chief Justice. They hunted for
him far and wide, but he was nowhere to be found,
so word was sent to the parents accordingly. There

12 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

was untold consternation in the home of the former
governor. So great a loss, what could equal it?
They searched the country about the temple, but
no trace or shadow of him was to be found. Some
said they thought he had been inveigled away and
metamorphosed by the fox; others that he had
been eaten by the tiger. The parents decided that
he was dead and went into mourning for him,
burning his clothing in a sacrificial fire.

In Pyong-an the Governor's son, when he
found that he had lost Charan, had Charan 's
mother imprisoned and all the relatives, but after
a month or so, when the search proved futile, he
gave up the matter and let them go.

Charan, at last happy with her chosen one, said
one day to him, "You, a son of the gentry, for the
sake of a dancing-girl have given up parents and
home to live in this hidden corner of the hills. It
is a matter, too, that touches your filial piety, this
leaving your father and mother in doubt as to
whether you are alive or not. They ought to know.
We cannot live here all our lives, neither can we
return home; what do you think we ought to do ? "
Keydong made a hopeless reply. "I am in
distress," said he, "and know not."

Charan said brightly, "I have a plan by which
we can cover over the faults of the past, and win a
new start for the future. By means of it, you can

CHARAN 18

serve your parents and look the world in the face.
Will you consent ? "

"What do you propose?" asked he. Her reply
was, "There is only one way, and that is by means
of the Official Examination. I know of no other.
You will understand what I mean, even though I
do not tell you more."

He said, "Enough, your plan is just the thing
to help us out. But how can I get hold of the
books I need ? "

Charan replied, "Don't be anxious about that,
I'll get the books." From that day forth she sent
through all the neighbourhood for books, to be
secured at all costs; but there were few or none, it
being a mountain village. One day there came by,
all unexpectedly, a pack-peddler, who had in his
bundle a book that he wished to sell. Some of the
village people wanted to buy it for wall-paper.
Charan, however, secured it first and showed it to
Keydong. It was none other than a special work
for Examinations, with all the exercises written out.
It was written in small characters, and was a huge
book containing several thousand exercises. Key-
dong was delighted, and said, "This is enough for
all needed' preparation." She bought it and gave
it to him, and there he pegged away day after day.
In the night he studied by candle-light, while she
sat by his side and did silk-spinning. Thus they

14 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

shared the light together. If he showed any
remissness, Charan urged him on, and thus they
worked for two years. To begin with, he, being a
highly talented scholar, made steady advancement
day by day. He was a beautiful writer and a master
of the pen. His compositions, too, were without a
peer, and every indication pointed to his winning
the highest place in the Kivago (Examination).

At this time a proclamation was issued that there
would be a special examination held before His
Majesty the King, so Charan made ready the food
required and all necessaries for him to go afoot to
Seoul to try his hand.

At last here he was, within the Palace enclosure.
His Majesty came out into the examination arena
and posted up the subject. Keydong took his pen
and wrote his finished composition. Under the
inspiration of the moment his lines came forth like
bubbling water. It was finished.

When the announcement was made as to the
winner, the King ordered the sealed name of the
writer to be opened. It was, and they found that
Keydong was first. At that time his father was
Prime Minister and waiting in attendance upon the
King. The King called the Prime Minister, and
said, "It looks to me as though the winner was
your son, but he writes that his father is Chief
Justice and not Prime Minister; what can that

CHARAN 15

mean ? " He handed the composition paper to the
father, and asked him to look and see. The
Minister gazed at it in wonder, burst into tears, and
said, " It is your servant's son. Three years ago he
went with some friends to a monastery to study,
but one night he disappeared, and though I
searched far and wide I have had no word of him
since. I concluded that he had been destroyed by
some wild animal, so I had a funeral service held
and the house went into mourning. I had no other
children but this son only. He was greatly gifted
and I lost him in this strange way. The memory
has never left me, for it seems as though I had lost
him but yesterday. Now that I look at this paper
I see indeed that it is the writing of my son. When
I lost him I was Chief Justice, and thus he records
the office; but where he has been for these three
years, and how he comes now to take part in the
examination, I know not."

The King, hearing this, was greatly astonished,
and at once before all the assembled ministers had
him called. Thus he came in his scholar's dress
into the presence of the King. All the officials
wondered at this summoning of a candidate before
the announcement of the result. The King asked
him why he had left the monastery and where he
had been for these three years. He bowed low,
and said, "I have been a very wicked man, have

16 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

left my parents, have broken all the laws of filial
devotion, and deserve condign punishment." The
King replied, saying, "There is no law of conceal-
ment before the King. I shall not condemn you
even though you are guilty; tell me all." Then he
told his story to the King. All the officials on
each side bent their ears to hear. The King sighed,
and said to the father, "Your son has repented and
made amends for his fault. He has won first place
and now stands as a member of the Court. We
cannot condemn him for his love for this woman.
Forgive him for all the past and give him a start
for the future." His Majesty said further, "The
woman Charan, who has shared your life in the
lonely mountains, is no common woman. Her
plans, too, for your restoration were the plans of a
master hand. She is no dancing-girl, this Charan.
Let no other be your lawful wife but she only ; let
her be raised to equal rank with her husband, and
let her children and her children's children hold
highest office in the realm." So was Keydong
honoured with the winner's crown, and so the
Prime Minister received his son back to life at the
hands of the King. The winner's cap was placed
upon his head, and the whole house was whirled
into raptures of joy.

So the Minister sent forth a palanquin and
servants to bring up Charan. In a great festival

CHARAN 17

of joy she was proclaimed the wife of the Minister's
son. Later he became one of Korea's first men of
State, and they lived their happy life to a good old
age. They had two sons, both graduates and men
who held high office.

IM BANG.

II

THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG

[TAOISM has been one of the great religions of
Korea. Its main thought is expressed in the
phrase su-sim yon-song, "to correct the mind and
reform the nature"; while Buddhism's is myong-
sim kyon-song, "to enlighten the heart and see the
soul."

The desire of all Taoists is "eternal life,"
chang-saing pul-sa; that of the Buddhists, to
rid oneself of fleshly being. In the Taoist world
of the genii, there are three great divisions : the
upper genii, who live with God; the midway genii,
who have to do with the world of angels and
spirits; and the lower genii, who rule in sacred
places on the earth, among the hills, just as we
find in the story of Chang To-ryong.]

In the days of King Chung-jong (A.D. 1507-
1526) there lived a beggar in Seoul, whose face
was extremely ugly and always dirty. He was
forty years of age or so, but still wore his hair

down his back like an unmarried boy. He carried

18

THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG 19

a bag over his shoulder, and went about the streets
begging. During the day he went from one part
of the city to the other, visiting each section, and
when night came on he would huddle up beside
some one's gate and go to sleep. He was fre-
quently seen in Chong-no (Bell Street) in company
with the servants and underlings of the rich.
They were great friends, he and they, joking and
bantering as they met. He used to say that his
name was Chang, and so they called him Chang
To-ryong, To-ryong meaning an unmarried boy,
son of the gentry. At that time the magician Chon
U-chi, who was far-famed for his pride and
arrogance, whenever he met Chang, in passing
along the street, would dismount and prostrate him-
self most humbly. Not only did he bow, but he
seemed to regard Chang with the greatest of fear,
so that he dared not look him in the face. Chang,
sometimes, without even inclining his head, would
say, "Well, how goes it with you, eh?" Chon,
with his hands in his sleeves, most respectfully
would reply, "Very well, sir, thank you, very
well." He had fear written on all his features
when he faced Chang.

Sometimes, too, when Chon would bow, Chang
would refuse to notice him at all, and go by with-
out a word. Those who saw it were astonished,
and asked Chon the reason. Chon said in reply,

20 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

"There are only three spirit-men at present in
Cho-sen, of whom the greatest is Chang To-ryong ;
the second is Cheung Puk-chang; and the third is
Yun Se-pyong. People of the world do not know
it, but I do. Such being the case, should I not
bow before him and show him reverence ? "

Those who heard this explanation, knowing that
Chon himself was a strange being, paid no atten-
tion to it.

At that time in Seoul there was a certain literary
undergraduate in office whose house joined hard
on the street. This man used to see Chang fre-
quently going about begging, and one day he
called him and asked who he was, and why he
begged. Chang made answer, "I was originally
of a cultured family of Chulla Province, but my
parents died of typhus fever, and I had no brothers
or relations left to share my lot. I alone remained
of all my clan, and having no home of my own I
have gone about begging, and have at last reached
Seoul. As I am not skilled in any handicraft, and
do not know Chinese letters, what else can I do ? "
The undergraduate, hearing that he was a scholar,
felt very sorry for him, gave him food and drink,
and refreshed him.

From this time on, whenever there was any
special celebration at his home, he used to call
Chang in and have him share it.

THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG 21

On a certain day when the master was on his
way to office, he saw a dead body being carried
on a stretcher off toward the Water Gate. Look-
ing at it closely from the horse on which he rode,
he recognized it as the corpse of Chang To-
ryong. He felt so sad that he turned back to his
house and cried over it, saying, "There are lots of
miserable people on earth, but who ever saw one
as miserable as poor Chang ? As I reckon the
time over on my fingers, he has been begging in
Bell Street for fifteen years, and now he passes
out of the city a dead body."

Twenty years and more afterwards the master
had to make a journey through South Chulla
Province. As he was passing Chi-i Mountain, he
lost his way and got into a maze among the hills.
The day began to wane, and he could neither return
nor go forward. He saw a narrow footpath, such
as woodmen take, and turned into it to see if it led
to any habitation. As he went along there were
rocks and deep ravines. Little by little, as he
advanced farther, the scene changed and seemed
to become strangely transfigured. The farther he
went the more wonderful it became. After he had
gone some miles he discovered himself to be in
another world entirely, no longer a world of earth
and dust. He saw some one coming toward him
dressed in ethereal green, mounted and carrying a

22 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

shade, with servants accompanying. He seemed
to sweep toward him with swiftness and without
effort. He thought to himself, " Here is some high
lord or other coming to meet me, but," he added,
"how among these deeps and solitudes could a
gentleman come riding so ? " He led his horse
aside and tried to withdraw into one of the groves
by the side of the way, but before he could think
to turn the man had reached him. The mysterious
stranger lifted his two hands in salutation an<d
inquired respectfully as to how he had been all
this time. The master was speechless, and so
astonished that he could make no reply. But the
stranger smilingly said, "My house is quite near
here; come with me and rest."

He turned, and leading the way seemed to glide
and not to walk, while the master followed. At
last they reached the place indicated. He suddenly
saw before him great palace halls filling whole
squares of space. Beautiful buildings they were,
richly ornamented. Before the door attendants in
official robes awaited them. They bowed to the
master and led him into the hall. After passing a
number of gorgeous, palace-like rooms, he arrived
at a special one and ascended to the upper storey,
where he met a very wonderful person. He was
dressed in shining garments, and the servants that
waited on him were exceedingly fair. There were,

THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG 23

too, children about, so exquisitely beautiful that it
seemed none other than a celestial palace. The
master, alarmed at finding himself in such a place,
hurried forward and made a low obeisance, not
daring to lift his eyes. But the host smiled upon
him, raised his hands and asked, "Do you not
know me? Look now." Lifting his eyes, he then
saw that it was the same person who had come
riding out to meet him, but he could not tell who
he was. "I see you," said he, "but as to who you
are I cannot tell."

The kingly host then said, "I am Chang To-
ryong. Do you not know me?" Then as the
master looked more closely at him he could see
the same features. The outlines of the face were
there, but all the imperfections had gone, and only
beauty remained. So wonderful was it that he
was quite overcome.

A great feast was prepared, and the honoured
guest was entertained. Such food, too, was placed
before him as was never seen on earth. Angelic
beings played on beautiful instruments and danced
as no mortal eye ever looked upon. Their faces,
too, were like pearls and precious stones.

Chang To-ryong said to his guest, "There are
four famous mountains in Korea in which the
genii reside. This hill is one. In days gone by,
for a fault of mine, I was exiled to earth, and in

24 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

the time of my exile you treated me with marked
kindness, a favour that I have never forgotten.
When you saw my dead body your pity went out
to me ; this, too, I remember. I was not dead then,
it was simply that my days of exile were ended
and I was returning home. I knew that you were
passing this hill, and I desired to meet you and
to thank you for all your kindness. Your treat-
ment of me in another world is sufficient to bring
about our meeting in this one." And so they met
and feasted in joy and great delight.

When night came he was escorted to a special
pavilion, where he was to sleep. The windows
were made of jade and precious stones, and soft
lights came streaming through them, so that there
was no night. "My body was so rested and my
soul so refreshed," said he, "that I felt no need
of sleep."

When the day dawned a new feast was spread,
and then farewells were spoken. Chang said,
"This is not a place for you to stay long in; you
must go. The ways differ of we genii and you men
of the world. It will be difficult for us ever to
meet again. Take good care of yourself and go
in peace." He then called a servant to accompany
him and show the way. The master made a low
bow and withdrew. When he had gone but a
short distance he suddenly found himself in the

THE STORY OF CHANG TO-RYONG 25

old world with its dusty accompaniments. The
path by which he came out was not the way by
which he had entered. In order to mark the
entrance he planted a stake, and then the servant
withdrew and disappeared.

The year following the master went again and
tried to find the citadel of the genii, but there were
only mountain peaks and impassable ravines, and
where it was he never could discover.

As the years went by the master seemed to grow
younger in spirit, and at last at the age of ninety
he passed away without suffering. "When Chang
was here on earth and I saw him for fifteen years,"
said the master, "I remember but one peculiarity
about him, namely, that his face never grew older
nor did his dirty clothing ever wear out. He never
changed his garb, and yet it never varied in appear-
ance in all the fifteen years. This alone would
have marked him as a strange being, but our fleshly
eyes did not recognize it."

IM BANG.

IU
A STORY OF THE FOX

[THE Fox. — Orientals say that among the long-
lived creatures are the tortoise, the deer, the crane
and the fox, and that these long-lived ones attain
to special states of spiritual refinement. If trees
exist through long ages they become coal ; if pine
resin endures it becomes amber ; so the fox, if it
lives long, while it never becomes an angel, or
spiritual being, as a man does, takes on various
metamorphoses, and appears on earth in various
forms.]

Yi Kwai was the son df a minister. He passed
his examinations and held high office. When
his father was Governor of Pyong-an Province,
Kwai was a little boy and accompanied him. The
Governor's first wife being dead, Kwai's step-
mother was the mistress of the home. Once when
His Excellency had gone out on an inspecting
tour, the yamen was left vacant, and Kwai was
there with her. In the rear garden of the official
quarters was a pavilion, called the Hill Pagoda,

that was connected by a narrow gateway with the

26

27

public hall. Frequently Kwai took one of the yamen
boys with him and went there to study, and once
at night when it had grown late and the boy who
accompanied him had taken his departure, the door
opened suddenly and a young woman came in.
Her clothes were neat and clean, and she was very
pretty. Kwai looked carefully at her, but did
not recogni^e her. She was evidently a stranger,
as there was no such person among the dancing-
girls of the yamen.

He remained looking at her, in doubt as to who
she was, while she on the other hand took her place
in the corner of the room and said nothing.

"Who are you?" he asked. She merely
laughed and made no reply. He called her. She
came and knelt down before him, and he took her
by the hand and patted her shoulder, as though
he greeted her favourably. The woman smiled
and pretended to enjoy it. He concluded, how-
ever, that she was not a real woman, but a goblin
of some kind, or perhaps a fox, and what to do he
knew not. Suddenly he decided on a plan, caught
her, swung her on to his back, and rushed out
through the gate into the yamen quarters, where
he shouted at the top of his voice for his step-
mother and the servants to come.

It was midnight and all were asleep. No one
replied, and no one came. The woman, then, being

28 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

on his back, bit him furiously at the nape of the
neck. By this he knew that she was the fox.
Unable to stand the pain of it, he loosened his
grasp, when she jumped to the ground, made her
escape and was seen no more.

What a pity that no one came to Kwai's rescue
and so made sure of the beast !

IM BANG.

IV

CHEUNG PUK-CHANG, THE SEER

[CHEUNG PUK-CHANG — The Yol-ryok Keui-sul,
one of Korea's noted histories, says of Cheung Puk-
chang that he was pure in purpose and without
selfish ambition. He was superior to all others in
his marvellous gifts. For him to read a book once
was to know it by heart. There was nothing that
he could not understand — astronomy, geology,
music, medicine, mathematics, fortune-telling and
Chinese characters, which he knew by intuition and
not from study.

He followed his father in the train of the envoy
to Peking, and there talked to all the strange peoples
whom he met without any preparation. They all
wondered at him and called him "The Mystery."
He knew, too, the meaning of the calls of birds and
beasts; and while he lived in the mountains he could
see and tell what people were doing in the distant
valley, indicating what was going on in each house,
which, upon investigation, was found in each case
to be true. He was a Taoist, and received strange

revelations.

29

30 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

While in Peking there met him envoys from the
Court of Loochoo, who also were prophets. While
in their own country they had studied the horoscope,
and on going into China knew that they were to
meet a Holy Man. As they went on their way they
asked concerning this mysterious being, and at last
reached Peking. Inquiring, they went from one
envoy's station to another till they met Cheung
Puk-chang, when a great fear came upon them, and
they fell prostrate to the earth.

They took from their baggage a little book in-
scribed, " In such a year, on such a day, at such an
hour, in such a place, you shall meet a Holy Man."
" If this does not mean your Excellency," said they,
"whom can it mean ? " They asked that he would
teach them the sacred Book of Changes, and he
responded by teaching it in their own language.
At that time the various envoys, hearing of this,
contended with each other as to who should first
see the marvellous stranger, and he spoke to each
in his own tongue. They all, greatly amazed, said,
" He is indeed a man of God."

Some one asked him, saying, "There are those
who understand the sounds of birds and beasts,
but foreign languages have to be learned to be
known ; how can you speak them without
study ? "

Puk-chang replied, "I do not know them from

CHEUNG PUK-CHANG, THE SEER 81

having learned them, but know them uncon-
sciously."

Puk-chang was acquainted with the three
religions, but he considered Confucianism as the
first. "Its writings as handed down," said he,
"teach us filial piety and reverence. The learning
of the Sages deals with relationships among men
and not with spiritual mysteries; but Taoism and
Buddhism deal with the examination of the soul
and the heart, and so with things above and not
with things on the earth. This is the difference."

At thirty-two years of age he matriculated, but
had no interest in further literary study. He
became, instead, an official teacher of medicine,
astrology and mathematics.

He was a fine whistler, we are told, and once when
he had climbed to the highest peak of the Diamond
Mountains and there whistled, the echoes resounded
through the hills, and the priests were startled and
wondered whose flute was playing.]

[There is a term in Korea which reads he-an
Pang-kwang, "spiritual-eye distant-vision," the see-
ing of things in the distance. This pertains to both
Taoists and Buddhists.

It is said that when the student reaches a certain
stage in his progress, the soft part of the head
returns to the primal thinness that is seen in the

32 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

child to rise and fall when it breathes. From this
part of the head go forth five rays of light that
shoot out and up more and more as the student
advances in the spiritual way. As far as they
extend so is the spiritual vision perfected, until at
last a Korean sufficiently advanced could sit and
say, "In London, to-day, such and such a great
affair is taking place."

For example, So Wha-tam, who was a Taoist
Sage, once was seen to laugh to himself as he sat
with closed eyes, and when asked why he laughed,
said, "Just now in the monastery of Ha-in [300
miles distant] there is a great feast going on. The
priest stirring the huge kettle of bean gruel has
tumbled in, but the others do not know this, and are
eating the soup." News came from the monastery
later on that proved that what the sage had seen
was actually true.

The History of Confucius, too, deals with this
when it tells of his going with his disciple An-ja
and looking off from the Tai Mountains of Shan-
tung toward the kingdom of On. Confucius
asked An-ja if he could see anything, and An-ja
replied, " I see white horses tied at the gates of On."

Confucius said, "No, no, your vision is imper-
fect, desist from looking. They are not white
horses, but are rolls of white silk hung out for
bleaching."]

CHEUNG PUK-CHANG, THE SEER 88

The Story

The Master, Puk-chang, was a noted Korean.
From the time of his birth he was a wonderful
mystery. In reading a book, if he but glanced
through it, he could recall it word for word.
Without any special study he became a master
of astronomy, geology, medicine, fortune-telling,
music, mathematics and geomancy, and so truly a
specialist was he that he knew them all.

He was thoroughly versed also in the three great
religions, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
He talked constantly of what other people could
not possibly comprehend. He understood the
sounds of the birds, the voices of Nature, and much
else. He accompanied his father in his boyhood
days when he went as envoy to Peking. At that
time, strange barbarian peoples used also to come
and pay their tribute. Puk-chang picked up ac-
quaintance with them on the way. Hearing their
language but once, he was readily able to com-
municate with them. His own countrymen who
accompanied him were not the only ones aston-
ished, nor the Chinamen themselves, but the
barbarians as well. There are numerous interesting
stories hinted at in the history of Puk-chang, but
few suitable records were made of them, and so
many are lost.
D

84 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

There is one, however, that I recall that
comes to me through trustworthy witnesses : Puk-
chang, on a certain day, went to visit his paternal
aunt. She asked him to be seated, and as they
talked together, said to him, "I had some har-
vesting to do in Yong-nam County, and sent a
servant to see to it. His return is overdue and yet
he does not come. I am afraid he has fallen in with
thieves, or chanced on a fire or some other
misfortune."

Puk-chang replied, "Shall I tell you how it goes
with him, and how far he has come on the way ? "

She laughed, saying, "Do you mean to joke
about it ? "

Puk-chang, from where he was sitting, looked
off apparently to the far south, and at last said to
his aunt, "He is just now crossing the hill called
Bird Pass in Mun-kyong County, Kyong-sang
Province. Hallo ! he is getting a beating just now
from a passing yangban (gentleman), but I see it
is his own fault, so you need not trouble about
him."

The aunt laughed, and asked, "Why should he
be beaten ; what's the reason, pray ? "

Puk-chang replied, "It seems this official was
eating his dinner at the top of the hill when your
servant rode by him without dismounting. The
gentleman was naturally very angry and had his

CHEUNG PUK-CHANG, THE SEER 35

servants arrest your man, pull him from his horse,
and beat him over the face with their rough straw
shoes."

The aunt could not believe it true, but treated
the matter as a joke; and yet Puk-chang did not
seem to be joking.

Interested and curious, she made a note of the day
on the wall after Puk-chang had taken his depart-
ure, and when the servant returned, she asked him
what day he had come over Bird Pass, and it
proved to be the day recorded. She added also,
"Did you get into trouble with a yangban there
when you came by ? "

The servant gave a startled look, and asked,
" How do you know ? " He then told all that had
happened to him, and it was just as Puk-chang had
given it even to the smallest detail.

IM BANG.

YUN SE-PYONG, THE WIZARD

[YuN SE-PYONG was a man of Seoul who lived to
the age of over ninety. When he was young he
loved archery, and went as military attach^ to the
capital of the Mings (Nanking). There he met a
prophet who taught him the Whang-jong Kyong,
or Sacred Book of the Taoists, and thus he learned
their laws and practised their teachings. His life
was written by Yi So-kwang.]

[CHON U-CHI was a magician of Songdo who
lived about 1550, and was associated in his life with
Shin Kwang-hu. At the latter's residence one day
when a friend called, Kwang-hu asked Chon to
show them one of his special feats. A little later
they brought in a table of rice for each of the party,
and Chon took a mouthful of his, and then blew it
out toward the courtyard, when the rice changed
into beautiful butterflies that flew gaily away.

Chang O-sa used to tell a story of his father, who
said that one day Chon came to call upon him at his
house and asked for a book entitled The Tu-si, which

36

YUN SE-PYONG, THE WIZARD 87

he gave to him. "I had no idea," said the father,
"that he was dead and that it was his ghost. I gave
him the book, though I did not learn till afterwards
that he had been dead for a long time."

The History of Famous Men says, " He was a
man who understood heretical magic, and other
dangerous teachings by which he deceived the
people. He was arrested for this and locked up in
prison in Sin-chon, Whang-hai Province, and there
he died. His burial was ordered by the prison
authorities, and later, when his relatives came to
exhume his remains, they found that the coffin was
empty."

This and the story of Im Bang do not agree as to
his death, and I am not able to judge between
them. — J. S. G.]

[The transformation of men into beasts, bugs
and creeping things comes from Buddhism; one
seldom finds it in Taoism.]

The Story

Yun Se-Pyong was a military man who rose to
the rank of minister in the days of King Choong-
jong. It seems that Yun learned the doctrine of
magic from a passing stranger, whom he met on his
way to Peking in company with the envoy. When

38 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

at home he lived in a separate house, quite apart
from the other members of his family. He was a
man so greatly feared that even his wife and
children dared not approach him. What he did in
secret no one seemed to know. In winter he was
seen to put iron cleats under each arm and to change
them frequently, and when they were put off they
seemed to be red-hot.

At the same time there was a magician in Korea
called Chon U-chi, who used to go about Seoul
plying his craft. So skilful was he that he could
even simulate the form of the master of a house
and go freely into the women's quarters. On this
account he was greatly feared and detested. Yun
heard of him on more than one occasion, and deter-
mined to rid the earth of him. Chon heard also of
Yun and gave him a wide berth, never appearing in
his presence. He used frequently to say, " I am a
magician only; Yun is a God."

On a certain day Chon informed his wife that
Yun would come that afternoon and try to kill him,
"and so," said he, " I shall change my shape in order
to escape his clutches. If any one comes asking for
me just say that I am not at home." He then
metamorphosed himself into a beetle, and crawled
under a crock that stood overturned in the court-
yard.

When evening began to fall a young woman

YUN SE-PYONG, THE WIZARD 89

came to Chon's house, a very beautiful woman too,
and asked, " Is the master Chon at home ? "

The wife replied, " He has just gone out."

The woman laughingly said, "Master Chon and
I have been special friend's for a long time, and I
have an appointment with him to-day. Please say
to him that I have come."

Chon's wife, seeing a pretty woman come thus,
and ask in such a familiar way for her husband,
flew into a rage and said, "The rascal has
evidently a second wife that he has never told me
of. What he said just now is all false," so she
went out in a fury, and with a club smashed the
crock. When the crock was broken there was the
beetle underneath it. Then the woman who had
called suddenly changed into a bee, and flew at and
stung the beetle. Chon, metamorphosed into his
accustomed form, fell over and died, and the bee
flew away.

Yun lived at his own house as usual, when
suddenly he broke down one day in a fit of tears.
The members of his family in alarm asked the
reason.

He replied, "My sister living in Chulla Province
has just at this moment died." He then called his
servants, and had them prepare funeral supplies,
saying, "They are poor where she lives, and so I
must help them."

40 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

He wrote a letter, and after sealing it, said to one
of his attendants, "If you go just outside the gate
you will meet a man wearing a horsehair cap and a
soldier's uniform. Call him in. He is standing
there ready to be summoned."

He was called in, and sure enough he was a Kon-
yun-no (servant of the gods). He came in and at
once prostrated himself before Yun. Yun said, " My
sister has just now died in such a place in Chulla
Province. Take this letter and go at once. I shall
expect you back to-night with the answer. The
matter is of such great importance that if you do
not bring it as I order, and within the time
appointed, I shall have you punished."

He replied, "I shall be in time, be not anxious."

Yun then gave him the letter and the bundle, and
he went outside the main gateway and disappeared.

Before dark he returned with the answer. The
letter read : "She died at such an hour to-day and
we were in straits as to what to do, when your
letter came with the supplies, just as though we had
seen each other. Wonderful it is ! " The man who
brought the answer immediately went out and dis-
appeared. The house of mourning is situated over
ten days' journey from Seoul, but he returned ere
sunset, in the space of two or three hours.

IM BANG.

VI

THE WILD-CAT WOMAN

[KiM SU-IK was a native of Seoul who matric-
ulated in 1624 and graduated in 1630. In 1636,
when the King made his escape to Nam-han from
the invading Manchu army, Kim Su-ik acompanied
him. He opposed any yielding to China or any
treaty with them, but because his counsel was not
received he withdrew from public life.]

[Tong Chung-so was a Chinaman of great note.
He once desired to give himself up to study, and
did not go out of his room for three years. During
this time a young man one day called on him, and
while he stood waiting said to himself, "It will rain
to-day." Tong replied at once, " If you are not a
fox you are a wild cat — out of this," and the man at
once ran away. How he came to know this was
from the words, "Birds that live in the trees know
when the wind will blow ; beasts that live in the
ground know when it is going to rain." The

wild cat unconsciously told on himself.]

41

42 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The Story

The former magistrate of Quelpart, Kim Sii-ik,
lived inside of the South Gate of Seoul. When he
was young it was his habit' to study Chinese daily
until late at night. Once, when feeling hungry, he
called for his wife to bring him something to eat.

The wife replied, " We have nothing in the house
except seven or eight chestnuts. Shall I roast these
and bring them to you ? "

Kim replied, "Good; bring them."

The servants were asleep, and there was no one
on hand to answer a call, so the wife went to
the kitchen, made a fire and cooked them herself.
Kim waited, meanwhile, for her to come.

After a little while she brought them in a hand-
basket, cooked and ready served for him. Kim ate
and enjoyed them much. Meanwhile she sat
before his desk and waited. Suddenly the door
opened, and another person entered. Kim raised
his eyes to see, and there was the exact duplicate of
his wife, with a basket in her hand and roasted
chestnuts. As he looked at both of them beneath
the light the two women were perfect facsimiles of
each other. The two also looked back and forth
in alarm, saying, "What's this that's happened?
Who are you ? "

Kim once again received the roasted nuts, laid

THE WILD-CAT WOMAN 43

them down, and then took firm hold of each woman,
the first one by the right hand and the second by
the left, holding fast till the break of day.

At last the cocks crew, and the east began to
lighten. The one whose right hand he held, said,
" Why do you hold me so ? It hurts ; let me go."
She shook and tugged, but Kim held all the tighter.
In a little, after struggling, she fell to the floor and
suddenly changed into a wild cat. Kim, in fear and
surprise, let her go, and she made her escape
through the door. What a pity that he did not
make the beast fast for good and all !

Note by the writer. — Foxes turning into women
and deceiving people is told of in Kwang-keiii and
other Chinese novels, but the wild cat's transforma-
tion is more wonderful still, and something that I
have never heard of. By what law do creatures
like foxes and wild cats so change ? I am unable to
find any law that governs it. Some say that the fox
carries a magic charm by which it does these magic
things, but can this account for the wild cat ?

IM BANG.

VII

THE ILL-FATED PRIEST

A CERTAIN scribe of Chung-chong Province, whose
name was Kim Kyong-jin, once told me the follow-
ing story. Said he: "In the year 1640, as I was
journeying past Big Horn Bridge in Ta-in County,
I saw a scholar, who, with his four or five servants,
had met with some accident and all were reduced to
a state of unconsciousness, lying by the river side.
I asked the reason for what had befallen them, and
they at last said in reply, ' We were eating our
noon meal by the side of the road, when a Buddhist
priest came by, a proud, arrogant fellow, who
refused to bow or show any recognition of us. One
of the servants, indignant at this, shouted at him.
The priest, however, beat him with his stick, and
when others went to help, he beat them also, so that
they were completely worsted and unable to
rise or walk. He then scolded the scholar, saying,
"You did not reprimand your servants for their
insult to me, so I'll have to take it out of you as
well." The Buddhist gave him a number of vicious

44

THE ILL-FATED PRIEST 45

blows, so that he completely collapsed ; ' and when
I looked there was the priest a li or two ahead.

"Just then a military man, aged about forty or so,
came my way. He was poor in flesh and seemed
to have no strength. Riding a cadaverous pony,
he came shuffling along; a boy accompanying
carried his hat-cover and bow and arrows. He
arrived at the stream, and, seeing the people in their
plight, asked the cause. The officer was very angry,
and said, ' Yonder impudent priest, endowed with
no end of brute force, has attacked my people and
me.'

" ' Indeed,' said the stranger, ' I have been aware
of him for a long time, and have decided to rid
the earth of him, but I have never had an oppor-
tunity before. Now that I have at last come on him
I am determined to have satisfaction.' So he dis-
mounted from his horse, tightened his girth, took
his bow, and an arrow that had a ' fist ' head, and
made off at a gallop after the priest. Soon he over-
took him. Just as the priest looked back the archer
let fly with his arrow, which entered deep into the
chest. He then dismounted, drew his sword, pierced
the two hands of the priest and passed a string
through them, tied him to his horse's tail, and came
triumphantly back to where the scholar lay, and
said, ' Now do with this fellow as you please. I
am going.'

46 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

"The scholar bowed before the archer, thanked
him, asked his place of residence and name. He
replied, ' My home is in the County of Ko-chang,'
but he did not give his name.

"The scholar looked at the priest, and never
before had he seen so powerful a giant, but now,
with his chest shot through and his hands pierced,
he was unable to speak ; so they arose, made mince-
meat of him, and went on their way rejoicing."

IM BANG.

VIII
THE VISION OF THE HOLY MAN

Yi CHI-HAM (Master To-jong). — A story is told
of him that on the day after his wedding he went
out with his topo or ceremonial coat on, but came
back later without it. On inquiry being made, it
was found that he had torn it into pieces to serve
as bandages for a sick child that he had met with
on his walk.

Once on a time he had an impression that his
father-in-law's home was shortly to be overtaken
by a great disaster ; he therefore took his wife and
disappeared from the place. In the year following,
for some political offence, the home was indeed
wiped out and the family wholly destroyed.

To-jong was not only a prophet, but also a
magician, as was shown by his handling of a boat.
When he took to sea the waters lay quiet before
him, and all his path was peace. He would be
absent sometimes for a year or more, voyaging in
many parts of the world.

He practised fasting, and would go sometimes
for months without eating. He also overcame

47

48 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

thirst, and in the hot days of summer would avoid
drinking. He stifled all pain and suffering, so that
when he walked and his feet were blistered he paid
no attention to it.

While young he was a disciple of a famous
Taoist, So Wha-dam. As his follower he used to
dress in grass cloth (the poor man's garb), wear
straw shoes and carry his bundle on his back. He
would be on familiar terms with Ministers of State,
and yet show indifference to their greatness and
pomp. He was acquainted with the various magic
practices, so that in boating he used to hang out
gourd cups at each corner of the boat, and thus
equipped he went many times to and from Quelpart
and never met a wind. He did merchandising,
made money, and bought land which yielded several
thousand bags of rice that he distributed among the
poor.

He lived in Seoul in a little dug-out, so that his
name became "Mud Pavilion," or To-jong. His
cap was made of metal, which he used to cook his
food in, and which he then washed and put back
on his head again. He used also to wear wooden
shoes and ride on a pack saddle.

He built a house for the poor in Asan County
when he was magistrate there, gathered in all the
needy and had them turn to and work at whatever
they had any skill in, so that they lived and

THE VISION OF THE HOLY MAN 49

flourished. When any one had no special ability,
he had him weave straw shoes. He urged them
on till they could make as many as ten pairs a day.
Yul-gok said of him that he was a dreamer and
not suitable for this matter-of-fact world, because
he belonged to the realm of flowers and pretty birds,
songs and sweet breezes, and not to the common
clay of corn and beef and radishes. To-jong heard
this, and replied, "Though I am not of a kind
equal to beans and corn, still I will rank with acorns
and chestnuts. Why am I wholly useless?"

KOREA'S RECORD OF FAMOUS MEN.

The Story

Teacher To-jong was once upon a time a mer-
chant, and in his merchandising went as far as the
East Sea. One night he slept in a fishing village
on the shore. At that time another stranger called
who was said to be an i-in or "holy man." The
three met and talked till late at night — the master
of the house, the "holy man " and To-jong. It was
very clear and beautifully calm. The "holy man "
looked for a time out over the expanse of water,
then suddenly gave a great start of terror, and said,
"An awful thing is about to happen."

His companions, alarmed at his manner, asked
him what he meant. He replied, "In two hours

or so there will be a tidal wave that will engulf this
E

50 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

whole village, utterly destroying everything. If
you do not make haste to escape all will be as fish
in a net."

To-jong, being something of an astrologer him-
self, thought first to solve the mystery of this, but
could arrive at no explanation.

The owner of the house would not believe it, and
refused to prepare for escape.

The "holy man" said, however, "Even though
you do not believe what I say, let us go for a little
up the face of the rear mountain. If my words fail
we can only come down again, and no one will be
the worse for it. If you still do not wish to trust
me, leave your goods and furniture just as they are
and let the people come away."

To-jong was greatly interested, though he could
not understand it. The master, too, could no
longer refuse this proposal, so he took his family
and a few light things and followed the "holy
man" up the hill.

He had them ascend to the very top, "in order,"
said he, "to escape."

To-jong did not go to the top, but seated himself
about half-way up. He asked the "holy man" if
he would not be safe enough there.

The "holy man" replied, "Others would never
escape if they remained where you are, but you will
simply get a fright and live through it."

THE VISION OF THE HOLY MAN 51

When cock-crow came, sure enough the sea
suddenly lifted its face, overflowed its banks, and
the waves came rolling up to the heavens, climbing
the mountain-sides till they touched the feet of
To-jong. The whole town on the seashore was
engulfed. When daylight came the waters receded.

To-jong bowed to the "holy man " and asked that
he might become his disciple. The "holy man,"
however, disclaimed any knowledge, saying that he
had simply known it by accident. He was a man
who did not speak of his own attainments. To-jong
asked for his place of residence, which he indicated
as near by, and then left. He went to seek him on
the following day, but the house was vacant, and
there was no one there.

IM BANG.

IX
THE VISIT OF THE MAN OF GOD

IN the thirty-third year of Mal-yok of the Mings
(A.D. 1605), being the year Eulsa of the reign of
Son-jo, in the seventh moon, a great rain fell, such
a rain as had not been seen since the founding of
the dynasty. Before that rain came on, a man of
Kang-won Province was cutting wood on the hill-
side. While thus engaged, an angel in golden
armour, riding on a white horse and carrying a
spear, came down to him from heaven. His appear-
ance was most dazzling, and the woodman, looking
at him, recognized him as a Man of God. Also a
Buddhist priest, carrying a staff, came down in
his train. The priest's appearance, too, was very
remarkable.

The Man of God stopped his horse and seemed to
be talking with the priest, while the woodcutter,
alarmed by the great sight, hid himself among the
trees.

The Man of God seemed to be very angry for
some reason or other, raised his spear, and, point-
ing to the four winds, said, "I shall flood all the

52

THE VISIT OF THE MAN OF GOD 53

earth from such a point to such a point, and destroy
the inhabitants thereof."

The priest following cried and prayed him to
desist, saying, "This will mean utter destruction
to mortals; please let thy wrath rest on me." As
he prayed thus earnestly the Man of God again
said, "Then shall I limit it to such and such places.
Will that do ? "

But the priest prayed more earnestly still, till the
Man replied emphatically, "I have lessened the
punishment more than a half already on your
account; I can do no more." Though the priest
prayed still, the Man of God refused him, so that
at last he submissively said, "Thy will be done."

They ended thus and both departed, passing
away through the upper air into heaven.

The two had talked for a long time, but the
distance being somewhat great between them and
the woodman, he did not hear distinctly all that was
said.

He went home, however, in great haste, and with
his wife and family made his escape, and from that
day the rain began to fall. In it Mount Otai col-
lapsed, the earth beneath it sank until it became a
vast lake, all the inhabitants were destroyed, and
the woodcutter alone made his escape.

IM BANG.

THE LITERARY MAN OF IMSIL

[THE calling of spirits is one of the powers
supposed to be possessed by disciples of the Old
Philosopher (Taoists), who reach a high state of
spiritual attainment. While the natural desires
remain they cloud and obstruct spiritual vision ;
once rid of them, even angels and immortal beings
become unfolded to the sight. They say, "If once
all the obstructions of the flesh are eliminated even
God can be seen." They also say, "If I have no
selfish desire, the night around me will shine with
golden light ; and if all injurious thoughts are truly
put away, the wild deer of the mountain will come
down and play beside me."

Ha Sa-gong, a Taoist of high attainment, as an
old man used to go out fishing, when the pigeons
would settle in flights upon his head and shoulders.
On his return one day he told his wife that they
were so many that they bothered him. "Why not
catch one of them ? " said his wife. "Catch one ? "
said he. "What would you do with it?" "Why,
eat it, of course." So on the second day Ha went

54

THE LITERARY MAN OF IMSIL 55

out with this intent in heart, but no birds came near
or alighted on him. All kept a safe distance high
up in mid-air, with doubt and suspicion evident in
their flying.]

The Story

In the year 1654 there was a man of letters living
in Imsil who claimed that he could control spirits,
and that two demon guards were constantly at his
bidding. One day he was sitting with a friend
playing chess, when they agreed that the loser in
each case was to pay a fine in drink. The friend
lost and yet refused to pay his wager, so that the
master said, "If you do not pay up I'll make it hot
for you." The man, however, refused, till at last
the master, exasperated, turned his back upon him
and called out suddenly into the upper air some
formula or other, as if he were giving a command.
The man dashed off through the courtyard to make
his escape, but an unseen hand bared his body, and
administered to him such a set of sounding blows
that they left blue, seamy marks. Unable to bear
the pain of it longer, he yielded, and then the master
laughed and let him go.

At another time he was seated with a friend,
while in the adjoining village a witch koot (exorcis-
ing ceremony) was in progress, with drums and

56 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

gongs banging furiously. The master suddenly
rushed out to the bamboo grove that stood behind
the official yamen, and, looking very angry and with
glaring eyes, he shouted, and made bare his arm
as if to drive off the furies. After a time he ceased.
The friend, thinking this a peculiar performance,
asked what it meant. His reply was, "A crowd of
devils have come from the koot, and are congregat-
ing in the grove of bamboos; if I do not drive
them off trouble will follow in the town, and for
that cause I shouted."

Again he was making a journey with a certain
friend, when suddenly, on the way, he called out
to the mid-air, saying, "Let her go, let her go, I
say, or I'll have you punished severely."

His appearance was so peculiar and threatening
that the friend asked the cause. For the time being
he gave no answer, and they simply went on their
way.

That night they entered a village where they
wished to sleep, but the owner of the house where
they applied said that they had sickness, and asked
them to go. They insisted, however, till he at last
sent a servant to drive them off. Meanwhile the
womenfolk watched the affair through the chinks
of the window, and they talked in startled whispers,
so that the scholar overheard them.

A few minutes later the man of the house followed

THE LITERARY MAN OF IMSIL 57

in the most humble and abject manner, asking them
to return and accept entertainment and lodging at
his house. Said he, "I have a daughter, sir, and
she fell ill this very day and died, and after some
time came to life again. Said she, ' A devil caught
me and carried my soul off down the main roadway,
where we met a man, who stopped us, and in fierce
tones drove off the spirit, who let me go, and so
I returned to life.' She looked out on your Excel-
lency through the chink of the window, and, behold,
you are the man. I am at my wits' end to know
what to say to you. Are you a genii or are you
a Buddhist, so marvellously to bring back the dead
to life? I offer this small refreshment; please
accept."

The scholar laughed, and said, " Nonsense ! Just
a woman's haverings. How could I do such
things ? " He lived for seven or eight years more,
and died.

IM BANG.

XI

THE SOLDIER OF KANG-WHA

[THE East says that the air is full of invisible
constituents that, once taken in hand and con-
trolled, will take on various forms of life. The man
of Kang-wha had acquired the art of calling
together the elements necessary for the butterfly.
This, too, comes from Taoism, and is called son-sul,
Taoist magic.]

The Story

There was a soldier once of Kang-wha who was
the chief man of his village ; a low-class man, he
was, apparently, without any gifts. One day his
wife, overcome by a fit of jealousy, sat sewing in
her inner room. It was midwinter, and he was
obliged to be at home; so, with intent to cheer her
up and take her mind off the blues, he said to her,
"Would you like to see me make some butterflies ? "

His wife, more angry than ever at this, rated him
for his impudence, and paid no further attention.

The soldier then took her workbasket and from
it selected bits of silk of various colours, tucked

58

THE SOLDIER OF KANG-WHA 59

them into his palm, closed his hand upon them,
and repeated a prayer, after which he threw the
handful into the air. Immediately beautiful butter-
flies filled the room, dazzling the eyes and shining
in all the colours of the silk itself.

The wife, mystified by the wonder of it, forgot
her anger. The soldier a little later opened his
hand, held it up, and they all flew into it. He
closed it tight and then again opened his hand, and
they were pieces of silk only. His wife alone saw
this; it was unknown to others. No such strange
magic was ever heard of before.

In 1637, when Kang-wha fell before the Manchus,
all the people of the place fled crying for their lives,
while the soldier remained undisturbed at his home,
eating his meals with his wife and family just as
usual. He laughed at the neighbours hurrying by.
Said he, "The barbarians will not touch this town ;
why do you run so?" Thus it turned out that,
while the whole island was devastated, the soldier's
village escaped.

IM BANG.

XII

CURSED BY THE SNAKE

[HA YON graduated in the year 1396, and became
magistrate of Anak County. He built many
pavilions in and about his official place of resid-
ence, where people might rest. As he went about
his district, seeing the farmers busy, he wrote many
songs and verses to encourage them in their work.
He became later a royal censor, and King Tai-jong
commended him, saying, "Well done, good and
faithful servant." Later he became Chief Justice.
He cleared out the public offices of all disreputable
officials, and made the Court clean. When he had
leisure it was his habit to dress in ceremonial garb,
burn incense, sit at attention, and write prayer
verses the livelong day.

When he was young, once, in the Court of the
Crown Prince, he wrote a verse which was com-
mented upon thus: "Beautiful writing, beautiful
thought ; truly a treasure." He was a great student
and a great inquirer, and grateful and lovable as a
friend. He studied as a boy under the patriot

Cheung Mong-ju, and was upright and pure in all

60

CURSED BY THE SNAKE 61

his ways. His object was to become as one of the
Ancients, and so he followed truth, and encouraged
men in the study of the sacred books. He used to
awake at first cock-crow of the morning, wash,
dress, and never lay aside his book. On his right
were pictures, on his left were books, and he happy
between. He rose to be Prime Minister.]

The Story

The old family seat of Prince Ha Yun was in
the County of Keum-chon. He was a famous
Minister of State in the days of peace and pros-
perity, and used frequently to find rest and leisure
in his summer-house in this same county. It was a
large and well-ordered mansion, and was occupied
by his children for many years after his death.

The people of that county used to tell a very
strange story of Ha and his prosperity, which runs
thus : He had placed in an upper room a large
crock that was used to hold flour. One day one
of the servants, wishing to get some flour from the
jar, lifted the lid, when suddenly from the depths
of it a huge snake made its appearance. The
servant, startled, fell back in great alarm, and then
went and told the master what had happened. The
master sent his men-slaves and had the jar brought
down. They broke it open and let out a huge,
awful-looking snake, such as one had never seen

62 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

before. Several of the servants joined in with clubs
and killed the brute. They then piled wood on it
and set fire to the whole. Vile fumes arose that
filled the house. From the fumes all the people of
the place died, leaving no one behind to represent
the family. Others who entered the house died
also, so that the place became cursed, and was left
in desolation. A little later a mysterious fire broke
out and burnt up the remaining buildings, leaving
only the vacant site. To this day the place is
known as "haunted," and no one ventures to build
upon it.

IM BANG.

XIII

THE MAN ON THE ROAD

IN the Manchu War of 1636, the people of Seoul
rushed off in crowds to make their escape. One
party of them came suddenly upon a great force
of the enemy, armed and mounted. The hills and
valleys seemed full of them, and there was no
possible way of escape. What to do they knew
not. In the midst of their perplexity they suddenly
saw some one sitting peacefully in the main road-
way just in front, underneath a pine tree, quite
unconcerned. He had dismounted from his horse,
which a servant held, standing close by. A screen
of several yards of cotton cloth was hanging up just
before him, as if to shield him from the dust of the
passing army.

The people who were making their escape came
up to this stranger, and said imploringly, "We are
all doomed to die. What shall we do ? "

The mysterious stranger said, " Why should you
die ? and why are you so frightened ? Sit down by
me and see the barbarians go by."

63

64 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The people, perceiving his mind so composed
and his appearance devoid of fear, and they having
no way of escape, did as he bade them and sat
down.

The cavalry of the enemy moved by in great
numbers, killing every one they met, not a single
person escaping; but when they reached the place
where the magician sat, they went by without,
apparently, seeing anything. Thus they continued
till the evening, when all had passed by. The
stranger and the people with him sat the day
through without any harm overtaking them, even
though they were in the midst of the enemy's camp,
as it were.

At last awaking to the fact that he was possessor
of some wonderful magic, they all with one accord
came and bowed before him, asking his name and
his place of residence. He made no answer, how-
ever, but mounted his beautiful horse and rode
swiftly away, no one being able to overtake
him.

The day following the party fell in with a man
who had been captured but had made his escape.
They asked if he had seen anything special the day
before. He said, "When I followed the barbarian
army, passing such and such a point " — indicating
the place where the magician had sat with the
people — "we skirted great walls and precipitous

THE MAN ON THE ROAD 65

rocks, against which no one could move, and so
we passed by."

Thus were the few yards of cotton cloth meta-
morphosed before the eyes of the passers-by.

IM BANG.

XIV

THE OLD MAN WHO BECAME A FISH

SOME years ago a noted official became the
magistrate of Ko-song County. On a certain day
a guest called on him to pay his respects, and
when noon came the magistrate had a table of food
prepared for him, on which was a dish of skate
soup. When the guest saw the soup he twisted
his features and refused it, saying, "To-day I am
fasting from meat, and so beg to be excused." His
face grew very pale, and tears flowed from his eyes.
The magistrate thought this behaviour strange, and
asked him two or three times the meaning of it.
When he could no longer withhold a reply, he went
into all the particulars and told him the story.

"Your humble servant," he said, "has in his life
met with much unheard-of and unhappy experience,
which he has never told to a living soul, but now
that your Excellency asks it of me, I cannot refrain
from telling. Your servant's father was a very old
man, nearly a hundred, when one day he was taken
down with a high fever, in which his body was like

a fiery furnace. Seeing the danger he was in, his

66

THE OLD MAN WHO BECAME A FISH 67

children gathered about weeping, thinking that the
time of his departure had surely come. But he
lived, and a few days later said to us, ' I am bur-
dened with so great a heat in this sickness that I
am not able to endure it longer. I would like to
go out to the bank of the river that runs before the
house and see the water flowing by, and be refreshed
by it. Do not disobey me now, but carry me out
at once to the water's edge.'

"We remonstrated with him and begged him not
to do so, but he grew very angry, and said, ' If
you do not as I command, you will be the death
of me ' ; and so, seeing that there was no help for
it, we bore him out and placed him on the bank of
the river. He, seeing the water, was greatly de-
lighted, and said, ' The clear flowing water cures
my sickness.' A moment later he said further,
' I'd like to be quite alone and rid of you all for
a little. Go away into the wood and wait till I tell
you to come.'

" We again remonstrated about this, but he grew
furiously angry, so that we were helpless. We
feared that if we insisted, his sickness would grow
worse, and so we were compelled to yield. We
went a short distance away and then turned to look,
when suddenly the old father was gone from the
place where he had been seated. We hurried back
to see what had happened. My father had taken

68 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

off his clothes and plunged into the water, which
was muddied. His body was already half meta-
morphosed into a skate. We saw its transformation
in terror, and did not dare to go near him, when
all at once it became changed into a great flatfish,
that swam and plunged and disported itself in the
water with intense delight. He looked back at us
as though he could hardly bear to go, but a moment
later he was off, entered the deep sea, and did not
again appear.

"On the edge of the stream where he had
changed his form we found his finger-nails and a
tooth. These we buried, and to-day as a family
we all abstain from skate fish, and when we see
the neighbours frying or eating it we are overcome
with disgust and horror."

IM BANG.

XV

THE GEOMANCER

[Yi EUI-SIN was a specialist in Geomancy. His
craft came into being evidently as a by-product of
Taoism, but has had mixed in it elements of ancient
Chinese philosophy. The Positive and the Nega-
tive, the Two Primary Principles in Nature, play
a great part; also the Five Elements, Metal, Wood,
Water, Fire and Earth. In the selection of a site,
that for a house is called a "male" choice, while
the grave is denominated the "female" choice.

Millions of money have been expended in Korea
on the geomancer and his associates in the hope
of finding lucky homes for the living and auspi-
cious resting-places for the dead, the Korean idea
being that, in some mysterious way, all our
fortune is associated with Mother Earth.]

The Story

There was a geomancer once, Yi Eui-sin, who in
seeking out a special mountain vein, started with
the Dragon Ridge in North Ham-kyong Province,

and traced it as far as Pine Mountain in Yang-ju

69

70 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

County, where it stopped in a beautifully rounded
end, forming a perfect site for burial. After
wandering all day in the hills, Yi's hungry spirit
cried out for food. He saw beneath the hill a
small house, to which he went, and rapping at the
door asked for something to eat. A mourner,
recently bereaved, came out in a respectful and
kindly way, and gave him a dish of white gruel.
Yi, after he had eaten, asked what time the friend
had become a mourner, and if he had already
passed the funeral. The owner answered, "I am
just now entering upon full mourning, but we have
not yet arranged for the funeral." He spoke in a
sad and disheartened way.

Yi felt sorry for him, and asked the reason. "I
wonder if it's because you are poor that you have
not yet made the necessary arrangements, or per-
haps you have not yet found a suitable site ! I
am an expert in reading the hills, and I'll tell you
of a site ; would you care to see it ? "

The mourner thanked him most gratefully, and
said, "I'll be delighted to know of it."

Yi then showed him the end of the great vein
that he had just discovered, also the spot for the
grave and how to place its compass points. "After
possessing this site," said he, "you will be greatly
enriched, but in ten years you will have cause
to arrange for another site. When that comes to

THE GEOMANCER 71

pass please call me, won't you? In calling for
me just ask for Yi So-pang, who lives in West
School Ward, Seoul."

The mourner did as directed, and as the geo-
mancer had foretold, all his affairs prospered. He
built a large tiled house, and ornamented the grave
with great stones as a prosperous and high-minded
country gentleman should do.

After ten years a guest called one day, and salut-
ing him asked, "Is that grave yonder, beyond the
stream, yours?" The master answered, "It is
mine." Then the stranger said, "That is a famous
site, but ten years have passed since you have come
into possession of it, and the luck is gone; why do
you not make a change ? If you wait too long you
will rue it and may meet with great disaster."

The owner, hearing this, thought of Yi the
geomancer, and what he had said years before.
Remembering that, he asked the stranger to remain
as his guest while he went next day to Seoul to
look up Yi in West School Ward. He found him,
and told him why he had come.

Yi said, "I already knew of this." So the two
journeyed together to the inquirer's home. When
there, they went with the guest up the hill. Yi
asked of the guest, "Why did you tell the master
to change the site ? "

The guest replied, "This hill is a Kneeling

72 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

Pheasant formation. If the pheasant kneels too
long it cannot endure it, so that within a limited
time it must fly. Ten years is the time ; that's why
I spoke."

Yi laughed and said, "Your idea is only a partial
view, you have thought of only one thing, there
are other conditions that enter." Then he showed
the peak to the rear, and said, "Yonder is Dog
Hill," and then one below, "which," said he, "is
Falcon Hill," and then the stream in front, " which,"
said he, "is Cat River. This is the whole group,
the dog behind, the falcon just above, and the cat
in front, how then can the pheasant fly? It dares
not."

The guest replied, "Teacher, surely your eyes
are enlightened, and see further than those of
ordinary men."

From that day forth the Yis of Pine Hill be-
came a great and noted family.

ANON.

XVI

THE MAN WHO BECAME A PIG

[KiM Yu was the son of a country magistrate
who graduated with literary honours in 1596. In
1623 he was one of the faithful courtiers who joined
forces to dethrone the wicked Prince Kwang-hai,
and place In-jo on the throne. He was raised to
the rank of Prince and became, later, Prime
Minister. In the year 1624, when Yi Kwal raised
an insurrection, he was the means of putting it
down and of bringing many of his followers to
justice. In 1648, he died at the age of seventy-
seven .

In the last year of Son-jo the King called his
grandchildren together and had them write Chinese
for him and draw pictures. At that time In-jo
was a little boy, and he drew a picture of a horse.
King Son-jo gave the picture to Yi Hang-bok, but
when the latter some years later went into exile
he gave the picture to Kim Yu. Kim Yu took it,
and hung it up in his house and there it remained.

Prince In-jo was one day making a journey out
of the Palace when he was overtaken by rain, and

73

74 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

took refuge in a neighbouring gate-quarters. A
servant-maid came out and invited him in, asking
him not to stand in the wet, but Prince In-jo
declined. The invitation, however, was insisted
on, and he went into the guest-room, where he saw
the picture of a horse on the wall. On examining
it carefully he recognized it as the picture he had
drawn when a lad, and he wondered how it could
have come here. Kim Yu then came in and they
met for the first time. Prince In-jo told him how
he had been overtaken by rain and invited in. He
asked concerning the picture of the horse that hung
on the wall, and Kim Yu in reply asked why he
inquired. Prince In-jo said, "I drew that picture
myself when I was a boy." Just as they spoke
together a rich table of food was brought in from
the inner quarters. Kim Yu, not knowing yet who
his guest was, looked with wonder at this surprise,
and after Prince In-jo had gone, he inquired of
his wife why she had sent such delicious fare in
to a stranger. The wife replied, "In a dream last
night, I saw the King come and stand in front of
our house. I was just thinking it over when the
servant came in and said that some one was stand-
ing before the door. I looked out, and lo, it was
the man I had seen in my dream ! so I have treated
him to the best of hospitality that I was able."
Kim Yu soon learned who his caller had been, and

THE MAN WHO BECAME A PIG 75

became from that time the faithful supporter of
Prince In-jo, and later helped to put him on the
throne.

After In-jo became king he asked privately of
Kim Yu where he had got the picture. Kim Yu
said, "I got it from Prince Yi Hang-bok."

Kim Yu then called Yi's son and inquired of
him as to how his father had got it. The son said,
"In the last year of King Son-jo he called my
father along with all his grandchildren, and
showed him the writings and drawings of the
young princes. My father looked at them with
interest, but the King gave him only one as a
keepsake, namely, the drawing of the horse." In
the picture there was a willow tree and a horse
tied to it. Kim Yu then recognized the thought
that underlay the gift of the picture, namely, that
Prince Yi Hang-bok should support In-jo in the
succession to the throne.]

The Story

A certain Minister of State, called Kim Yu,
living in the County of Seung-pyong, had a relative
who resided in a far-distant part of the country,
an old man aged nearly one hundred. On a cer-
tain day a son of this patriarch came to the office
of the Minister and asked to see him. Kim
ordered him to be admitted, and inquired as to

76 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

why he had come. Said he, "I have something
very important to say, a private matter to lay
before your Excellency. There are so many guests
with you now that I'll come again in the evening
and tell it."

In the evening, when all had departed, he came,
and the Minister ordered out his personal retainers
and asked the meaning of the call. The man
replied, saying, " My father, though very old, was,
as you perhaps know, a strong and hearty man.
On a certain day he called us children to him and
said, ' I wish to have a siesta, so now close the
door and all of you go out of the room. Do not
let any one venture in till I call you."

"We children agreed, of course, and did so. Till
late at night there was neither call nor command to
open the door, so that we began to be anxious. We
at last looked through the chink, and lo, there
was our father changed into a huge pig ! Terrified
by the sight of it we opened the door and looked
in, when the animal grunted and growled and
made a rush to get out past us. We hurriedly
closed the door again and held a consultation.

"Some said, 'Let's keep the pig just as it is,
within doors, and care for it.' Some said, ' Let's
have a funeral and bury it.' We ignorant country-
folk not knowing just what to do under such pecu-
liar circumstances, I have come to ask counsel of

THE MAN WHO BECAME A PIG 77

your Excellency. Please think over this startling
phenomenon and tell us what we ought to do."

Prince Kim, hearing this, gave a great start,
thought it over for a long time, and at last said,
"No such mysterious thing was ever heard of
before, and I really don't know what is best to
do under the circumstances, but still, it seems to
me that since this metamorphosis has come about,
you had better not bury it before death, so give
up the funeral idea. Since, too, it is not a human
being any longer, I do not think it right to keep
it in the house. You say that it wants to make its
escape, and as a cave in the woods or hills is its
proper abode, I think you had better take it out
and let it go free into the trackless depths of some
mountainous country, where no foot of man has
ever trod."

The son accepted this wise counsel, and did as
the Minister advised, took it away into the deep
mountains and let it go. Then he donned sack-
cloth, mourned, buried his father's clothes for a
funeral, and observed the day of metamorphosis
as the day of sacrificial ceremony.

IM BANG.

XVII

THERE was a Confucian scholar once who lived
in the southern part of Seoul. It is said that he
went out for a walk one day while his wife remained
alone at home. When he was absent there came
by begging an old woman who looked like a Bud-
dhist priestess, for while very old her face was
not wrinkled. The scholar's wife asked her if she
knew how to sew. She said she did, and so the
wife made this proposition, "If you will stay and
work for me I'll give you your breakfast and
your supper, and you'll not have to beg anywhere;
will you agree ? "

She replied, "Oh, thank you so much, I'll be
delighted."

The scholar's wife, well satisfied with her bar-
gain, took her in and set her to picking cotton, and
making and spinning thread. In one day she did
more than eight ordinary women, and yet had,
seemingly, plenty of time to spare. The wife,
delighted above measure, treated her to a great

feast. After five or six days, however, the feeling

78

THE OLD WOMAN GOBLIN 79

of delight and the desire to treat her liberally and
well wore off somewhat, so that the old woman
grew angry and said, "I am tired of living alone,
and so I want your husband for my partner."
This being refused, she went off in a rage, but came
back in a little accompanied by a decrepit old man
who looked like a Buddhist beggar.

These two came boldly into the room and took
possession, cleared out the things that were in the
ancient tablet-box on the wall-shelf, and both dis-
appeared into it, so that they were not seen at all,
but only their voices heard. According to the
whim that took them they now ordered eatables
and other things. When the scholar's wife failed
in the least particular to please them, they sent
plague and sickness after her, so that her children
fell sick and died. Relatives on hearing of this
came to see, but they also caught the plague, fell
ill and died. Little by little no one dared come
near the place, and it became known at last that
the wife was held as a prisoner by these two goblin
creatures. For a time smoke was seen by the town-
folk coming out of the chimney daily, and they
knew that the wife still lived, but after five or six
days the smoke ceased, and they knew then that
the woman's end had come. No one dared even
to make inquiry.

IM BANG.

XVIII

THE GRATEFUL GHOST

IT is often told that in the days of the Koryo
Dynasty (A.D. 918-1392), when an examination was
to be held, a certain scholar came from a far-distant
part of the country to take part. Once on his
journey the day was drawing to a close, and he
found himself among the mountains. Suddenly
he heard a sneezing from among the creepers and
bushes by the roadside, but could see no one.
Thinking it strange, he dismounted from his horse,
went into the brake and listened. He heard it again,
and it seemed to come from the roots of the creeper
close beside him, so he ordered his servant to dig
round it and see. He dug and found a dead man's
skull. It was full of earth, and the roots of the
creeper had passed through the nostrils. The sneez-
ing was caused by the annoyance felt by the spirit
from having the nose so discommoded.

The candidate felt sorry, washed the skull in clean
water, wrapped it in paper and reburied it in its

former place on the hill-side. He also brought a

80

THE GRATEFUL GHOST 81

table of food and offered sacrifice, and said a
prayer.

That night, in a dream, a scholar came to him, an
old man with white hair, who bowed, thanked him,
and said, "On account of sin committed in a former
life, I died out of season before I had fulfilled my
days. My posterity, too, were all destroyed, my
body crumbled back into the dust, my skull alone
remaining, and that is what you found below the
creeper. On account of the root passing through
it the annoyance was great, and I could not help
but sneeze. By good luck you and your kind heart,
blessed of Heaven, took pity on me, buried me in
a clean place and gave me food. Your kindness
is greater than the mountains, and like the blessing
that first brought me into life. Though my soul
is by no means perfect, yet I long for some way by
which to requite your favour, and so I have
exercised my powers in your behalf. Your present
journey is for the purpose of trying the official
Examination, so I shall tell you beforehand what
the form is to be, and the subject. It is to be of
character groups of fives, in couplets; the rhyme
sound is ' pong,' and the subject ' Peaks and
Spires of the Summer Clouds.' I have already
composed one for you, which, if you care to use it,
will undoubtedly win you the first place. It is
this —
G

82 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

'The white sun rode high up in the heavens,
And the floating clouds formed a lofty peak ;
The priest who saw them asked if there was a temple

there,
And the crane lamented the fact that no pines were

visible ;
But the lightnings from the cloud were the flashings of

the woodman's axe,
And the muffled thunders were the bell calls of the holy

temple.

Will any say that the hills do not move ?
On the sunset breezes they sailed away.'"

After thus stating it, he bowed and took his
departure.

The man, in wonder, awakened from his dream,
came up to Seoul ; and behold, the subject was as
foretold by the spirit. He wrote what had been
given him, and became first in the honours of the
occasion.

IM BANG.

XIX
THE PLUCKY MAIDEN

[HAN MYONG-HOI. — We are told in the Yol-ryok
Keui-sul that when Han was a boy he had for
protector and friend a tiger, who used to accom-
pany him as a dog does his master. One evening,
when he started off into the hills, he heard the dis-
tant tramp of the great beast, who had got scent
of his going, and had come rushing after him.
When Han saw him he turned, and said, "Good
old chap, you come all this distance to be my friend ;
I love you for it." The tiger prostrated himself
and nodded with his head several times. He used
to accompany Han all through the nights, but when
the day dawned he would leave him.

Han later fell into bad company, grew fond of
drink, and was one of the boisterous companions of
King Se-jo.]

The Story

Han Myong-hoi was a renowned Minister of the
Reign of Se-jo (A.D. 1455-1468). The King appre-
ciated and enjoyed him greatly, and there was no

83

84 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

one of the Court who could surpass him for influence
and royal favour. Confident in his position, Han
did as he pleased, wielding absolute power. At
that time, like grass before the wind, the world
bowed at his coming; no one dared utter a word of
remonstrance.

When Han went as governor to Pyong-an
Province he did all manner of lawless things. Any
one daring to cross his wishes in the least was
dealt with by torture and death. The whole
Province feared him as they would a tiger.

On a certain day Governor Han, hearing that the
Deputy Prefect of Son-chon had a very beautiful
daughter, called the Deputy, and said, "I hear that
you have a very beautiful daughter, whom I would
like to make my concubine. When I am on my
official rounds shortly, I shall expect to stop at
your town and take her. So be ready for me."

The Deputy, alarmed, said, " How can your Ex-
cellency say that your servant's contemptible
daughter is beautiful? Some one has reported her
wrongly. But since you so command, how can I
do but accede gladly ? " So he bowed, said his
farewell, and went home.

On his return his family noticed that his face
was clouded with anxiety, and the daughter asked
why it was. " Did the Governor call you, father ? "
asked she; "and why are you so anxious? Tell

THE PLUCKY MAIDEN 85

me, please." At first, fearing that she would be
disturbed, he did not reply, but her repeated ques-
tions forced him, so that he said, "I am in trouble
on your account," and then told of how the
Governor wanted her for his concubine. "If I had
refused I would have been killed, so I yielded ; but
a gentleman's daughter being made a concubine
is a disgrace unheard of."

The daughter made light of it and laughed.
"Why did you not think it out better than that,
father? Why should a grown man lose his life for
the sake of a girl ? Let the daughter go. By
losing one daughter and saving your life, you
surely do better than saving your daughter and
losing your life. One can easily see where the
greater advantage lies. A daughter does not count ;
give her over, that's all. Don't for a moment think
otherwise, just put away your distress and anxiety.
We women, every one of us, are under the ban,
and such things are decreed by Fate. I shall accept
without any opposition, so please have no anxiety.
It is settled now, and you, father, must yield and
follow. If you do so all will be well."

The father sighed, and said in reply, "Since you
seem so willing, my mind is somewhat relieved."
But from this time on the whole house was in
distress. The girl alone seemed perfectly unmoved,
not showing the slightest sign of fear. She

86 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

laughed as usual, her light and happy laugh, and
her actions seemed wonderfully free.

In a little the Governor reached Son-chon on his
rounds. He then called the Deputy, and said,
"Make ready your daughter for to-morrow and all
the things needed." The Deputy came home and
made preparation for the so-called wedding. The
daughter said, "This is not a real wedding; it is
only the taking of a concubine, but still, make
everything ready in the way of refreshments and
ceremony as for a real marriage." So the father
did as she requested.

On the day following the Governor came to the
house of the Deputy. He was not dressed in his
official robes, but came simply in the dress and hat
of a commoner. When he went into the inner
quarters he met the daughter; she stood straight
before him. Her two hands were lifted in cere-
monial form, but instead of holding a fan to hide
her face she held a sword before her. She was very
pretty. He gave a great start of surprise, and
asked the meaning of the knife that she held. She
ordered her nurse to reply, who said, " Even though
I am an obscure countrywoman, I do not forget
that I am born of the gentry; and though your
Excellency is a high Minister of State, still to take
me by force is an unhea"rd-of dishonour. If you
take me as your real and true wife I'll serve you

THE PLUCKY MAIDEN 87

with all my heart, but if you are determined to take
me as a concubine I shall die now by this sword.
For that reason I hold it. My life rests on one
word from your Excellency. Speak it, please,
before I decide."

The Governor, though a man who observed no
ceremony and never brooked a question, when he
saw how beautiful and how determined this maiden
was, fell a victim to her at once, and said, " If you
so decide, then, of course, I'll make you my real
wife."

Her answer was, " If you truly mean it, then
please withdraw and write out the certificate; send
the gifts; provide the goose; dress in the proper
way ; come, and let us go through the required
ceremony; drink the pledge-glass, and wed."

The Governor did as she suggested, carried out
the forms to the letter, and they were married.

She was not only a very pretty woman, but
upright and true of soul — a rare person indeed.
The Governor took her home, loved her and held
her dear. He had, however, a real wife before and
concubines, but he set them all aside and fixed his
affections on this one only. She remonstrated with
him over his wrongs and unrighteous acts, and he
listened and made improvement. The world took
note of it, and praised her as a true and wonderful
woman. She counted herself the real wife, but the

88 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

first wife treated her as a concubine, and all the
relatives said likewise that she could never be con-
sidered a real wife. At that time King Se-jo fre-
quently, in the dress of a commoner, used to visit
Han's house. Han entertained him royally with
refreshments, which his wife' used to bring and
offer before him. He called her his "little sister."
On a certain day King Se-jo, as he was accustomed,
came to the house, and while he was drinking he
suddenly saw the woman fall on her face before
him. The King in surprise inquired as to what
she could possibly mean by such an act. She then
told all the story of her being taken by force and
brought to Seoul. She wept while she said,
"Though I am from a far-distant part of the
country I am of the gentry by ancestry, and my
husband took me with all the required ceremonies
of a wife, so that I ought not to be counted a con-
cubine. But there is no law in this land by which
a second real wife may be taken after a first real
wife exists, so they call me a concubine, a matter
of deepest disgrace. Please, your Majesty, take
pity on me and decide my case."

The King laughed, and said, "This is a simple
matter to settle ; why should my little sister make
so great an affair of it, and bow before me? I will
decide your case at once. Come." He then wrote
out with his own hand a document making her a

THE PLUCKY MAIDEN 89

real wife, and her children eligible for the highest
office. He wrote it, signed it, stamped it and gave
it to her.

From that time on she was known as a real wife,
in rank and standing equal to the first one. Nd
further word was ever slightingly spoken, and her
children shared in the affairs of State.

IM BANG.

XX

THE RESOURCEFUL WIFE

IN the last year of Yon-san terrible evils were
abroad among the people. Such wickedness as
the world had never seen before was perpetrated,
of which his Majesty was the evil genius. He
even gave orders to his eunuchs and underlings to
bring to him any women of special beauty that
they might see in the homes of the highest nobility,
and whoever pleased him he used as his own.
"Never mind objections," said he, "take them by
force and come." Such were his orders. No one
escaped him. He even went so far as to publish
abroad that Minister So and So's wife preferred
him to her husband and would like to live always
in the Palace. It was the common talk of the city,
and people were dumbfounded.

For that reason all hearts forsook him, and
because of this he was dethroned, and King
Choong-jong reigned in his stead.

In these days of trouble there was a young wife
of a certain minister, who was very beautiful in
form and face. One day it fell about that she was

90

THE RESOURCEFUL WIFE 91

ordered into the Palace. Other women, when
called, would cry and behave as though their lives
were forfeited, but this young woman showed not
the slightest sign of fear. She dressed and went
straight into the Palace. King Yon-san saw her,
and ordered her to come close to him. She came,
and then in a sudden manner the most terrible
odour imaginable was noticeable. The King held
his fan before his face, turned aside, spat, and said,
" Dear me, I cannot stand this one, take her away,"
and so she escaped undefiled.

How it came about was thus : She knew that
she was likely to be called at any moment, and so
had planned a ruse by which to escape. Two slices
of meat she had kept constantly on hand, decayed
and foul-smelling, but always ready. She placed
these under her arms as she dressed and went
into the Palace, and so provided this awful and
unaccountable odour.

All that knew of it praised her bravery and
sagacity.

IM BANG.

XXI

THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR

A CERTAIN literary official was at one time Gover-
nor of the city of Kyong-ju. Whenever he visited
the Mayor of the place, it was his custom, on see-
ing dancing-girls, to tap them on the head with
his pipe, and say, "These girls are devils, ogres,
goblins. How can you tolerate them in your
presence ? "

Naturally, those who heard this disliked him,
and the Mayor himself detested his behaviour and
manners. He sent a secret message to the dancing-
girls, saying, "If any of you, by any means what-
ever, can deceive this governor, and put him to
shame, I'll reward you richly." Among them there
was one girl, a mere child, who said she could.

The Governor resided in the quarter of the city
where the Confucian Temple was, and he had but
one servant with him, a young lad. The dancing-
girl who had decided to ensnare him, in the dress
of a common woman of the town, used frequently

to go by the main gateway of the Temple, and in

92

THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR 98

going would call the Governor's boy to her.
Sometimes she showed her profile and sometimes
she showed her whole form, as she stood in the
gateway. The boy would go out to her and she
would speak to him for a moment or two and then
go. She came sometimes once a day, sometimes
twice, and this she kept up for a long time. The
Governor at last inquired of the boy as to who
this woman was that came so frequently to call
him.

"She is my sister," said the boy. "Her husband
went away on a peddling round a year or so ago,
and has not yet returned ; consequently she has no
one else to help her, so she frequently calls and
confers with me."

One evening, when the boy had gone to eat his
meal and the Governor was alone, the woman came
to the main gateway, and called for the boy.

His Excellency answered for him, and invited
her in. When she came, she blushed, and appeared
very diffident, standing modestly aside.

The Governor said, " My boy is absent just now,
but I want a smoke; go and get a light for my
pipe, will you, please."

She brought the light, and then he said, "Sit
down too, and smoke a little, won't you ? "

She replied, "How could I dare do such a
thing?"

94 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

He said, "There is no one else here now; never
mind."

There being no help for it, she did as he bade
her, and smoked a little. He felt his heart suddenly
inclined in her favour, and he said, " I have seen
many beautiful women, but I surely think that you
are the prettiest of them all. Once seeing you, I
have quite forgotten how to eat or sleep. Could
you not come to me to live here ? I am quite alone
and no one will know it."

She pretended to be greatly scandalized. " Your
Excellency is a noble, and I am a low-class woman ;
how can you think of such a thing ? Do you mean
it as a joke ? "

He replied, "I mean it truly, no joke at all."
He swore an oath, saying, " Really I mean it, every
word."

She then said, "Since you speak so, I am really
very grateful, and shall come."

Said he, "Meeting you thus is wonderful indeed."

She went on to say, "There is another matter,
however, that I wish to call to your attention. I
understand that where your Excellency is now
staying is a very sacred place, and that according
to ancient law men were forbidden to have women
here. Is that true ? "

The Governor clapped her shoulder, and said,
"Well, really now, how is it that you know of

THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR 95

this? You are right. What shall we do about
it?"

She made answer, "If you'll depend on me, I'll
arrange a plan. My home is near by, and I am
also alone, so if you come quietly at night to me,
we can meet and no one will know. I shall send a
felt hat by the boy, and you can wear that for
disguise. With this commoner's felt hat on no one
will know you."

The Governor was greatly delighted, and said,
" How is it that you can plan so wonderfully ?
I shall do as you suggest. Now you be sure
to be on hand." He repeated this two or three
times.

The woman went and entered the house indi-
cated. When evening came she sent the hat by the
boy. The Governor arrived as agreed, and she
received him, lit the lamp, and brought him re-
freshments and drink. They talked and drank
together, and he called her to come to him. The
woman hesitated for a moment, when suddenly
there was a call heard from the outside, and a great
disturbance took place. She bent her head to listen
and then gave a cry of alarm, saying, "That's the
voice of my husband, who has come. I was un-
fortunate, and so had this miserable wretch
apportioned to my lot. He is the most despicable
among mortals. For murder and arson he has no

96 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

equal. Three years ago he left me and I took
another husband, and we've had nothing to do with
each other since. I can't imagine why he should
come now. He is evidently very drunk, too, from
the sound of his voice. Your Excellency has
really fallen into a terrible plight. What shall I
do?"

The woman went out then and answered, saying,
"Who comes thus at midnight to make such a
disturbance ? "

The voice replied, "Don't you know my voice?
Why don't you open the door? "

She answered, "Are you not Chol-lo (Brass
Tiger), and have we not separated for good, years
ago ? Why have you come ? "

The voice from without answered back, "Your
leaving me and taking another man has always
been a matter of deepest resentment on my part;
I have something special to say to you," and he
pounded the door open and came thundering in.

The woman rushed back into the room, saying,
"Your Excellency must escape in some way or
other."

In such a little thatched hut there was no place
possible for concealment but an empty rice-box
only. "Please get into this," said she, and she
lifted the lid and hurried him in. The Governor,

THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR 97

in his haste and deshabille, was bundled into the
box. He then heard, from within, this fellow come
into the room and quarrel with his wife. She said,
" We have been separated three years already ; what
reason have you to come now and make such a
disturbance ? "

Said he, "You cast me off and took another man,
therefore I have come for the clothes that I left, and
the other things that belong to me."

Then she threw out his belongings to him, but
he said, pointing to the box, "That's mine."

She replied, "That's not yours; I bought that
myself with two rolls of silk goods."

"But," said he, "one of those rolls I gave you,
and I'm not going to let you have it."

"Even though you did give it, do you mean to
say that for one roll of silk you will carry away
this box? I'll not consent to it." Thus they
quarrelled, and contradicted each other.

"If you don't give me the box," said he, "I'll
enter a suit against you at the Mayor's."

A little later the day dawned, and so he had the
box carried off to the Mayor's office to have the
case decided by law, while the woman followed.
When they entered the court, already the Mayor
was seated in the judgment-place, and here they
presented their case concerning the box.

98 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The Mayor, after hearing, decided thus: "Since
you each have a half-share in its purchase, there is
nothing for me to do but to divide it between you.
Bring a saw," said he.

The servants brought the saw and began on the
box, when suddenly from the inner regions came
forth a cry, "Save me; oh, save me ! "

The Mayor, in pretended astonishment, said,
"Why, there's a man's voice from the inside," and
ordered that it should be opened. The servants
managed to find the key, and at last the lid came
back, and from the inner quarters there came forth
a half-dressed man.

On seeing him the whole place was put into
convulsions of laughter, for it was none other than
the Governor.

" How is it that your Excellency finds yourself
in this box in this unaccountable way ? " asked the
Mayor. "Please come out."

The Governor, huddling himself together as well
as he could, climbed on to the open verandah.
He held his head down and nearly died for
shame.

The Mayor, splitting his sides with laughter,
ordered clothes to be brought, and the first thing
that came was a woman's green dress-coat. The
Governor hastily turned it inside out, slipped it on,

THE BOXED-UP GOVERNOR 99

and made a dash for his quarters in the Confucian
Temple. That day he left the place never to
return, and even to the present time in Kyong-
ju they laugh and tell the story of the Boxed-up
Governor.

IM BANG.

XXII

THE MAN WHO LOST HIS LEGS

THERE was a merchant in Chong-ju who used to
go to Quelpart to buy seaweed. One time when
he drew up on the shore he saw a man shuffling
along on the ground toward the boat. He crept
nearer, and at last took hold of the side with both
his hands and jumped in.

"When I looked at him," said the merchant, "I
found he was an old man without any legs. As-
tonished, I asked, saying, ' How is it, old man, that
you have lost your legs? '

" He said in reply, ' I lost my legs on a trip once
when I was shipwrecked, and a great fish bit them
off.' "

"However did that happen?" inquired the
merchant. And the old man said, "We were
caught in a gale and driven till we touched on
some island or other. Before us on the shore stood
a high castle with a great gateway. The twenty or
so of us who were together in the storm-tossed boat
were all exhausted from cold and hunger, and lying

100

THE MAN WHO LOST HIS LEGS 101

exposed. We landed and managed to go together
to the house. There was in it one man only, whose
height was terrible to behold, and whose chest was
many spans round. His face was black and his
eyes large and rolling. His voice was like the
braying of a monster donkey. Our people made
motions showing that they wanted something to eat.
The man made no reply, but securely fastened the
front gate. After this he brought an armful of
wood, put it in the middle of the courtyard, and
there made a fire. When the fire blazed up he
rushed after us and caught a young lad, one of our
company, cooked him before our eyes, pulled him
to pieces and ate him. We were all reduced to a
state of horror, not knowing what to do. We gazed
at each other in dismay and stupefaction.

"When he had eaten his fill, he went up into a
verandah and opened a jar, from which he drank
some kind of spirit. After drinking it he uttered
the most gruesome and awful noises ; his face grew
very red and he lay down and slept. His snorings
were like the roarings of the thunder. We planned
then to make our escape, and so tried to open the
large gate, but one leaf was about twenty-four feet
across, and so thick and heavy that with all our
strength we could not move it. The walls, too,
were a hundred and fifty feet high, and so we could
do nothing with them. WTe were like fish in a pot—

102 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

beyond all possible way of escape. We held each
other's hands, and cried.

"Among us, one man thought of this plan : We
had a knife and he took it, and while the monster
was drunk and asleep, decided to stab his eyes out,
and cut his throat. We said in reply, ' We are all
doomed to death, anyway ; let's try,' and we
made our way up on to the verandah and stabbed
his eyes. He gave an awful roar, and struck out on
all sides to catch us. We rushed here and there,
making our escape out of the court back into the
rear garden. There were in this enclosure pigs and
sheep, about sixty of them in all. There we rushed,
in among the pigs and sheep. He floundered about,
waving his two arms after us, but not one of us did
he get hold of ; we were all mixed up — sheep, pigs
and people. When he did catch anything it was a
sheep ; and when it was not a sheep it was a pig.
So he opened the front gate to send all the animals
out.

" We then each of us took a pig or sheep on the
back and made straight for the gate. The monster
felt each, and finding it a pig or a sheep let it go.
Thus we all got out and rushed for the boat. A
little later he came and sat on the bank and roared
his threatenings at us. A lot of other giants came
at his call. They took steps of thirty feet or so,
came racing after us, caught the boat, and made it

THE MAN WHO LOST HIS LEGS 108

fast ; but we took axes and struck at the hands that
held it, and so got free at last and out to the open
sea.

"Again a great wind arose, and we ran on to the
rocks and were all destroyed. Every one was en-
gulfed in the sea and drowned ; I alone got hold of
a piece of boat-timber and lived. Then there was a
horrible fish from the sea that came swimming after
me and bit off my legs. At last I drifted back home
and here I am.

"When I think of it still, my teeth are cold and
my bones shiver. My Eight Lucky Stars are very
bad, that's why it happened to me."

ANON.

XXIII

TEN THOUSAND DEVILS

[HAN CHUN-KYOM was the son of a provincial
secretary. He matriculated in the year 1579 a°d
graduated in 1586. He received the last wishes of
King Son-jo, and sat by his side taking notes for
seven hours. From 1608 to 1623 he was generalis-
simo of the army, and later was raised to the rank
of Prince.]

A certain Prince Han of Choong-chong Province
had a distant relative who was an uncouth country-
man living in extreme poverty. This relative came
to visit him from time to time. Han pitied his cold
and hungry condition, gave him clothes to wear
and shared his food, urging him to stay and to
prolong his visit often into several months. He
felt sorry for him, but disliked his uncouthness and
stupidity.

On one of these visits the poor relation suddenly
announced his intention to return home, although
the New Year's season was just at hand. Han
urged him to remain, saying, "It would be better

104

TEN THOUSAND DEVILS 105

for you to be comfortably housed at my home, eat-
ing cake and soup and enjoying quiet sleep rather
than riding through wind and weather at this season
of the year."

He said at first that he would have to go, until
his host so insistently urged on him to stay that at
last he yielded and gave consent. At New Year's
Eve he remarked to Prince Han, " I am possessor
of a peculiar kind of magic, by which I have under
my control all manner of evil genii, and New Year
is the season at which I call them up, run over their
names, and mspect them. If I did not do so I
should lose control altogether, and there would
follow no end of trouble among mortals. It is a
matter of no small moment, and that is why I
wished to go. Since, however, you have detained
me, I shall have to call them up in your Excel-
lency's house and look them over. I hope you will
not object."

Han was greatly astonished and alarmed, but
gave his consent. The poor relation went on to
say further, "This is an extremely important matter,
and I would like to have for it your central guest
hall."

Han consented to this also, so that night they
washed the floors and scoured them clean. The
relation also sat himself with all dignity facing
the south, while Prince Han took up his station on

106 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

the outside prepared to spy. Soon he saw a start-
ling variety of demons crushing in at the door,
horrible in appearance and awesome of manner.
They lined up one after another, and still another,
and another, till they filled the entire court,
each bowing as he came before the master, who, at
this point, drew out a book, opened it before him,
and began calling off the names. Demon guards
who stood by the threshold repeated the call and
checked off the names just as they do in a govern-
ment yamen. From the second watch it went on
till the fifth of the morning. Han remarked, "It
was indeed no lie when he told me ' ten thousand
devils.1 "

One late-comer arrived after the marking was
over, and still another came climbing over the wall.
The man ordered them to be arrested, and inquiry
made of them under the paddle. The late arrival
said, " I really have had a hard time of it of late to
live, and so was obliged, in order to find anything,
to inject smallpox into the home of a scholar who
lives in Yong-nam. It is a long way off, and so I
have arrived too late for the roll-call, a serious fault
indeed, I confess."

The one who climbed the wall, said, "I, too, have
known want and hunger, and so had to insert a
little typhus into the family of a gentleman who

TEN THOUSAND DEVILS 107

lives in Kyong-keui, but hearing that roll-call was
due I came helter-skelter, fearing lest I should arrive
too late, and so climbed the wall, which was indeed
a sin."

The man then, in a loud voice, rated them soundly,
saying, "These devils have disobeyed my orders,
caused disease and sinned grievously. Worse than
everything, they have climbed the wall of a high
official's house." He ordered a hundred blows to
be given them with the paddle, the cangue to be
put on, and to have them locked fast in prison.
Then, calling the others to him, he said, "Do not
spread disease ! Do you understand ? " Three
times he ordered it and five times he repeated it.
Then they were all dismissed. The crowd of devils
lined off before him, taking their departure and
crushing out through the gate with no end of noise
and confusion. After a long time they had all
disappeared.

Prince Han, looking on during this time, saw
the man now seated alone in the hall. It was quiet,
and all had vanished. The cocks crew and morning
came. Han was astonished above measure, and
asked as to the law that governed such work as this.
The poor relation said in reply, "When I was
young I studied in a monastery in the mountains.
In that monastery was an old priest who had a

108 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

most peculiar countenance. A man feeble and
ready to die, he seemed. All the priests made
sport of him and treated him with contempt. I
alone had pity on his age, and often gave him of
my food and always treated him kindly. One even-
ing, when the moon was bright, the old priest said
to me, ' There is a cave behind this monastery from
which a beautiful view may be had ; will you not
come with me and share it ? '

"I went with him, and when we crossed the ridge
of the hills into the stillness of the night he drew
a book from his breast and gave it to me, saying,
' I, who am old and ready to die, have here a great
secret, which I have long wished to pass on to
some one worthy. I have travelled over the wide
length of Korea, and have never found the man
till now I meet you, and my heart is satisfied, so
please receive it.'

"I opened the book and found it a catalogue list
of devils, with magic writing interspersed, and an
explanation of the laws that govern the spirit world.
The old priest wrote out one magic recipe, and
having set fire to it countless devils at once
assembled, at which I was greatly alarmed. He
then sat with me and called over the names one
after the other, and said to the devils, ' I am an
old man now, am going away, and so am about to

TEN THOUSAND DEVILS 109

put you under the care of this young man ; obey
him and all will be well.'

"I already had the book, and so called them
to me, read out the new orders, and dismissed
them.

"The old priest and I returned to the Temple and
went to sleep. I awoke early next morning and
went to call on him, but he was gone. Thus I
came into possession of the magic art, and have
possessed it for a score of years and more. What
the world knows nothing of I have thus made
known to your Excellency."

Han was astonished beyond measure, and asked,
"May I not also come into possession of this
wonderful gift ? "

The man replied, "Your Excellency has great
ability, and can do wonderful things; but the pos-
sessor of this craft must be one poor and despised,
and of no account. For you, a minister, it would
never do."

The next day he left suddenly, and returned no
more. Han sent a servant with a message to him.
The servant, with great difficulty, at last found him
alone among a thousand mountain peaks, living in
a little straw hut no bigger than a cockle shell.
No neighbours were there, nor any one beside. He
called him, but he refused to come. He sent

110 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

another messenger to invite him, but he had moved
away and no trace of him was left.

Prince Han's children had heard this story from
himself, and I, the writer, received it from them.

IM BANG.

XXIV

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES

IN the days of King In-jo (1623-1649) there was
a student of Confucius who lived in Ka-pyong.
He was still a young man and unmarried. His
education had not been extensive, for he had read
only a little in the way of history and literature.
For some reason or other he left his home and went
into Kang-won Province. Travelling on horse-
back, and with a servant, he reached a mountain,
where he was overtaken by rain that wet him
through. Mysteriously, from some unknown cause,
his servant suddenly died, and the man, in fear and
distress, drew the body to the side of the hill, where
he left it and went on his way weeping. When
he had gone but a short distance, the horse he rode
fell under him and died also. Such was his plight :
his servant dead, his horse dead, rain falling fast,
and the road an unknown one. He did not know
what to do or where to go, and reduced thus to
walking, he broke down and cried. At this point
there met him an old man with very wonderful

eyes, and hair as white as snow. He asked the

in

112 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

young man why he wept, and the reply was that
his servant was dead, his horse was dead, that it
was raining, and that he did not know the way.
The patriarch, on hearing this, took pity on him,
and lifting his staff, pointed, saying, "There is a
house yonder, just beyond those pines, follow that
stream and it will bring you to where there are
people."

The young man looked as directed, and a li or so
beyond he saw a clump of trees. He bowed,
thanked the stranger, and started on his way.
When he had gone a few paces he looked back, but
the friend had disappeared. Greatly wondering,
he went on toward the place indicated, and as he
drew near he saw a grove of pines, huge trees they
were, a whole forest of them. Bamboos appeared,
too, in countless numbers, with a wide stream of
water flowing by. Underneath the water there
seemed to be a marble flooring like a great pave-
ment, white and pure. As he went along he saw
that the water was all of an even depth, such as one
could cross easily. A mile or so farther on he saw
a beautifully decorated house. The pillars and
entrance approaches were perfect in form. He con-
tinued his way, wet as he was, carrying his thorn
staff, and entered the gate and sat down to rest.
It was paved, too, with marble, and smooth as

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES 118

polished glass. There were no chinks or creases
in it, all was of one perfect surface. In the room
was a marble table, and on it a copy of the Book
of Changes ; there was also a brazier of jade just in
front. Incense was burning in it, and the fragrance
filled the room. Beside these, nothing else was
visible. The rain had ceased and all was quiet and
clear, with no wind nor anything to disturb. The
world of confusion seemed to have receded from
him.

While he sat there, looking in astonishment, he
suddenly heard the sound of footfalls from the rear
of the building. Startled by it, he turned to see,
when an old man appeared. He looked as though
he might equal the turtle or the crane as to age,
and was very dignified. He wore a green dress
and carried a jade staff of nine sections. The
appearance of the old man was such as to stun any
inhabitant of the earth. He recognized him as
the master of the place, and so he went forward
and made a low obeisance.

The old man received him kindly, and said, "I
am the master and have long waited for you." He
took him by the hand and led him away. As they
went along, the hills grew more and more enchant-
ing, while the soft breezes and the light touched
him with mystifying favour. Suddenly, as he

114 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

looked the man was gone, so he went on by him-
self, and arrived soon at another palace built like-
wise of precious stones. It was a great hall,
stretching on into the distance as far as the eye
could see.

The young man had seen the Royal Palace fre-
quently when in Seoul attending examinations, but
compared with this, the Royal Palace was as a mud
hut thatched with straw.

As he reached the gate a man in ceremonial
robes received him and led him in. He passed
two or three pavilions, and at last reached a special
one and went up to the upper storey. There, reclin-
ing at a table, he saw the ancient sage whom he
had met before. Again he bowed.

This young man, brought up poorly in the
country, was never accustomed to seeing or dealing
with the great. In fear, he did not dare to lift his
eyes. The ancient master, however, again wel-
comed him and asked him to be seated, saying,
"This is not the dusty world that you are accus-
tomed to, but the abode of the genii. I knew you
were coming, and so was waiting to receive you."
He turned and called, saying, "Bring something
for the guest to eat."

In a little a servant brought a richly laden table.
It was such fare as was never seen on earth, and

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES 115

there was abundance of it. The young man,
hungry as he was, ate heartily of these strange
viands. Then the dishes were carried away and
the old man said, "I have a daughter who has
arrived at a marriageable age, and I have been
trying to find a son-in-law, but as yet have not suc-
ceeded. Your coming accords with this need. Live
here, then, and become my son-in-law." The young
man, not knowing what to think, bowed and was
silent. Then the host turned and gave an order,
saying, "Call in the children."

Two boys about twelve or thirteen years of age
came running in and sat down beside him. Their
faces were so beautifully white they seemed like
jewels. The master pointed to them and said to
the guest, "These are my sons," and to the sons he
said, "This young man is he whom I have chosen
for my son-in-law; when should we have the
wedding? Choose you a lucky day and let me
know."

The two boys reckoned over the days on their
fingers, and then together said, "The day after to-
morrow is a lucky day."

The old man, turning to the stranger, said, "That
decides as to the wedding, and now you must wait
in the guest-chamber till the time arrives." He then
gave a command to call So and So. In a little an

116 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

official of the genii came forward, dressed in light
and airy garments. His appearance and expression
were very beautiful, a man, he seemed, of glad and
happy mien.

The master said, "Show this young man the way
to his apartments and treat him well till the time
of the wedding."

The official then led the way, and the young man
bowed as he left the room. When he had passed
outside the gate, a red sedan chair was in waiting
for him. He was asked to mount. Eight bearers
bore him smoothly along. A mile or so distant
they reached another palace, equally wonderful,
with no speck or flaw of any kind to mar its beauty.
In graceful groves of flowers and trees he descended
to enter his pavilion. Beautiful garments were
taken from jewelled boxes, and a perfumed bath
was given him and a change made. Thus he laid
aside his weather-beaten clothes and donned the
vestments of the genii. The official remained as
company for him till the appointed time.

When that day arrived other beautiful robes were
brought, and again he bathed and changed. When
he was dressed, he mounted the palanquin and rode
to the Palace of the master, twenty or more officials
accompanying. On arrival, a guide directed them
to the special Palace Beautiful. Here he saw pre-

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES 117

parations for the wedding, and here he made his
bow. This finished he moved as directed, further in.
The tinkling sound of jade bells and the breath of
sweet perfumes filled the air. Thus he made his
entry into the inner quarters.

Many beautiful women were in waiting, all
gorgeously apparelled, like the women of the gods.
Among these he imagined that he would meet the
master's daughter. In a little, accompanied by a
host of others, she came, shining in jewels and
beautiful clothing so that she lighted up the
Palace. He took his stand before her, though her
face was hidden from him by a fan of pearls. When
he saw her at last, so beautiful was she that his eyes
were dazzled. The other women, compared with
her, were as the magpie to the phoenix. So be-
wildered was he that he dared not look up. The
friend accompanying assisted him to bow and to
go through the necessary forms. The ceremony
was much the same as that observed among men.
When it was over the young man went back to his
bridegroom's chamber. There the embroidered
curtains, the golden screens, the silken clothing,
the jewelled floor, were such as no men of earth
ever see.

On the second day his mother-in-law called him
to her. Her age would be about thirty, and her

118 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

face was like a freshly-blown lotus flower. Here
a great feast was spread, with many guests invited.
The accompaniments thereof in the way of music
were sweeter than mortals ever dreamed of. When
the feast was over, the women caught up their skirts,
and, lifting their sleeves, danced together and sang
in sweet accord. The sound of their singing caused
even the clouds to stop and listen. When the
day was over, and all had well dined, the feast
broke up.

A young man, brought up in a country hut, had
all of a sudden met the chief of the genii, and had
become a sharer in his glory and the accompani-
ments of his life. His mind was dazed and his
thoughts overcame him. Doubts were mixed with
fears. He knew not what to do.

A sharer in the joys of the fairies he had actually
become, and a year or so passed in such delight as
no words can ever describe.

One day his wife said to him, "Would you like
to enter into the inner enclosure and see as the
fairies see ? "

He replied, "Gladly would I."

She then led him into a special park where there
were lovely walks, surrounded by green hills. As
they advanced there were charming views, with
springs of water and sparkling cascades. The

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES 119

scene grew gradually more entrancing, with
jewelled flowers and scintillating spray, lovely birds
and animals disporting themselves. A man once
entering here would never again think of earth as
a place to return to.

After seeing this he ascended the highest peak
of all, which was like a tower of many stories.
Before him lay a wide stretch of sea, with islands
of the blessed standing out of the water, and long
stretches of pleasant land in view. His wife showed
them all to him, pointing out this and that. They
seemed filled with golden palaces and surrounded
with a halo of light. They were peopled with
happy souls, some riding on cranes, some on the
phoenix, some on the unicorn ; some were sitting
on the clouds, some sailing by on the wind, some
walking on the air, some gliding gently up the
streams, some descending from above, some ascend-
ing, some moving west, some north, some gather-
ing in groups. Flutes and harps sounded sweetly.
So many and so startling were the things seen that
he could never tell the tale of them. After the day
had passed they returned.

Thus was their joy unbroken, and when two years
had gone by she bore him two sons.

Time moved on, when one day, unexpectedly, as
he was seated with his wife, he began to cry and

120 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

tears soiled his face. She asked in amazement for
the cause of it. " I was thinking," said he, "of how
a plain countryman living in poverty had thus
become the son-in-law of the king of the genii. But
in my home is my poor old mother, whom I have
not seen for these years; I would so like to see her
that my tears flow."

The wife laughed, and said, "Would you really
like to see her? Then go, but do not cry." She
told her father that her husband would like to go
and see his mother. The master called him and
gave his permission. The son thought, of course,
that he would call many servants and send him in
state, but not so. His wife gave him one little
bundle and that was all, so he said good-bye to his
father-in-law, whose parting word was, "Go now
and see your mother, and in a little I shall call for
you again."

He sent with him one servant, and so he passed
out through the main gateway. There he saw a
poor thin horse with a worn rag of a saddle on his
back. He looked carefully and found that they
were the dead horse and the dead servant, whom
he had lost, restored to him. He gave a start, and
asked, " How did you come here ? "

The servant answered, " I was coming with you
on the road when some one caught me away and

THE HOME OF THE FAIRIES 121

brought me here. I did not know the reason, but
I have been here for a long time."

The man, in great fear, fastened on his bundle
and started on his journey. The genie servant
brought up the rear, but after a short distance the
world of wonder had become transformed into the
old weary world again. Here it was with its fogs,
and thorn, and precipice. He looked off toward
the world of the genii, and it was but a dream.
So overcome was he by his feelings that he broke
down and cried.

The genie servant said to him when he saw him
weeping, "You have been for several years in the
abode of the immortals, but you have not yet
attained thereto, for you have not yet forgotten the
seven things of earth : anger, sorrow, fear, am-
bition, hate and selfishness. If you once get rid of
these there will be no tears for you." On hearing
this he stopped his crying, wiped his cheeks, and
asked pardon.

When he had gone a mile farther he found him-
self on the main road. The servant said to him,
"You know the way from this point on, so I shall
go back," and thus at last the young man reached
his home.

He found there an exorcising ceremony in pro-
gress. Witches and spirit worshippers had been

122 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

called and were saying their prayers. The family,
seeing the young man come home thus, were all
aghast. " It is his ghost," said they. However, they
saw in a little that it was really he himself. The
mother asked why he had not come home in all that
time. She being a very violent woman in dis-
position, he did not dare to tell her the truth, so he
made up something else. The day of his return
was the anniversary of his supposed death, and so
they had called the witches for a prayer ceremony.
Here he opened the bundle that his wife had given
him and found four suits of clothes, one for each
season.

In about a year after his return home the mother,
seeing him alone, made application for the daughter
of one of the village literati. The man, being timid
by nature and afraid of offending his mother, did
not dare to refuse, and was therefore married ; but
there was no joy in it, and the two never looked at
each other.

The young man had a friend whom he had
known intimately from childhood. After his
return the friend came to see him frequently, and
they used to spend the nights talking together. In
their talks the friend inquired why in all these
years he had never come home. The young man
then told him what had befallen him in the land

123

of the genii, and how he had been there and had
been married. The friend looked at him in wonder,
for he seemed just as he had remembered him
except in the matter of clothing. This he found on
examination was of very strange material, neither
grass cloth, silk nor cotton, but different from them
all, and yet warm and comfortable. When spring
came the spring clothes sufficed, when summer came
those for summer, and for autumn and winter each
special suit. They were never washed, and yet never
became soiled ; they never wore out, and always
looked fresh and new. The friend was greatly
astonished.

Some three years passed when one day there came
once more a servant from the master of the genii,
bringing his two sons. There were also letters,
saying, "Next year the place where you dwell will
be destroyed and all the people will become ' fish
and meat ' for the enemy, therefore follow this
messenger and come, all of you."

He told his friend of this and showed him his
two sons. The friend, when he saw these children
that looked like silk and jade, confessed the matter
to the mother also. She, too, gladly agreed, and so
they sold out and had a great feast for all the people
of the town, and then bade farewell. This was the
year 1635. They left and were never heard of again.

124 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The year following was the Manchu invasion,
when the village where the young man had lived
was all destroyed. To this day young and old in
Ka-pyong tell this story.

IM BANG.

XXV
THE HONEST WITCH

[SONG SANG-IN matriculated in 1601. He was a
just man, and feared by the dishonest element of
the Court. In 1605 he graduated and became a
provincial governor. He nearly lost his life in the
disturbances of the reign of King Kwang-hai, and
was exiled to Quelpart for a period of ten years,
but in the spring of 1623 he was recalled.]

The Story

There was a Korean once, called Song Sang-in,
whose mind was upright and whose spirit was true
He hated witches with all his might, and regarded
them as deceivers of the people. " By their so-called
prayers," said he, "they devour the people's goods.
There is no limit to the foolishness and extrava-
gance that accompanies them. This doctrine of
theirs is all nonsense. Would that I could rid
the earth of them and wipe out their names for
ever."

"5

126 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

Some time later Song was appointed magistrate
of Nam Won County in Chulla Province. On his
arrival he issued the following order : "If any witch
is found in this county, let her be beaten to death."
The whole place was so thoroughly spied upon that
all the witches made their escape to other prefec-
tures. The magistrate thought, "Now we are rid
of them, and that ends the matter for this county
at any rate."

On a certain day he went out for a walk, and
rested for a time at Kwang-han Pavilion. As he
looked out from his coign of vantage, he saw a
woman approaching on horseback with a witch's
drum on her head. He looked intently to make
sure, and to his astonishment he saw that she was
indeed a mutang (witch). He sent a yamen-Tunner
to have her arrested, and when she was brought
before him he asked, "Are you a mutang?"

She replied, "Yes, I am."

"Then," said he, "you did not know of the official
order issued ? "

"Oh yes, I heard of it," was her reply.

He then asked, "Are you not afraid to die, that
you stay here in this county ? "

The mutang bowed, and made answer, "I have
a matter of complaint to lay before your Excellency
to be put right; please take note of it and grant
my request. It is this : There are true mutangs

THE HONEST WITCH 127

and false mutangs. False mutangs ought to be
killed, but you would not kill an honest mutang,
would you ? Your orders pertain to false mutangs ;
I do not understand them as pertaining to those
who are true. I am an honest mutang; I knew
you would not kill me, so I remained here in
peace."

The magistrate asked, "How do you know that
there are honest mutangs ? "

The woman replied, "Let's put the matter to the
test and see. If I am not proven honest, let me
die."

"Very well," said the magistrate; "but can you
really make good, and do you truly know how to
call back departed spirits? "

The mutang answered, "I can."

The magistrate suddenly thought of an intimate
friend who had been dead for some time, and he
said to her, " I had a friend of such and such rank
in Seoul ; can you call his spirit back to me ? "

The mutang replied, "Let me do so; but first
you must prepare food, with wine, and serve it
properly."

The magistrate thought for a moment, and then
said to himself, "It is a serious matter to take
a person's life; let me find out first if she is true
or not, and then decide." So he had the food
brought.

128 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The mutang said also, "I want a suit of your
clothes, too, please." This was brought, and she
spread her mat in the courtyard, placed the food
in order, donned the dress, and so made all pre-
liminary arrangements. She then lifted her eyes
toward heaven and uttered the strange magic
sounds by which spirits are called, meanwhile
shaking a tinkling bell. In a little she turned and
said, "I've come." Then she began telling the sad
story of his sickness and death and their separation.
She reminded the magistrate of how they had
played together, and of things that had happened
when they were at school at their lessons; of the
difficulties they had met in the examinations; of
experiences that had come to them during their
terms of office. She told secrets that they had
confided to each other as intimate friends, and many
matters most definitely that only they two knew.
Not a single mistake did she make, but told the
truth in every detail.

The magistrate, when he heard these things,
began to cry, saying, "The soul of my friend is
really present; I can no longer doubt or deny
it." Then he ordered the choicest fare possible
to be prepared as a sacrifice to his friend. In
a little the friend bade him farewell and took his
departure.

THE HONEST WITCH 129

The magistrate said, " Alas ! I thought mutangs
were a brood of liars, but now I know that there are
true mutangs as well as false." He gave her rich
rewards, sent her away in safety, recalled his order
against witches, and refrained from any matters
pertaining to them for ever after.

IM BANG.

XXVI
WHOM THE KING HONOURS

IN the days of King Se-jong students of the
Confucian College were having a picnic to celebrate
the Spring Festival. They met in a wood to the
north of the college, near a beautiful spring of
water, and were drinking and feasting the night
through. While they were thus enjoying them-
selves the rooms of the college were left deserted.
One student from the country, a backwoodsman in
his way, who was of no account to others, thought
that while the rest went away to enjoy themselves
some one ought to stay behind to guard the sacred
precincts of the temple ; so he decided that he would
forgo the pleasures of the picnic, stay behind and
watch.

The King at that time sent a eunuch to the
college to see how many of the students had re-
mained on guard. The eunuch returned, saying
that all had gone off on the picnic, except one
man, a raw countryman, who was in sole charge.
The King at once sent for the man, asking him to
come just as he was in his common clothes.

'3°

WHOM THE KING HONOURS 131

On his arrival his Majesty asked, "When all
have gone off for a gay time, why is it that you
remain alone? "

He replied, "I, too, would like to have gone, but
to leave the sacred temple wholly deserted did not
seem to me right, so 1 stayed."

The King was greatly pleased with this reply,
and asked again, "Do you know how to write
verses ? "

The reply was, " I know only very little about it."

The King then said, " I have one-half of a verse
here which runs thus —

'After the rains the mountains weep.'

You write me a mate for this line to go with it."
At once the student replied —

" Before the wind the grass is tipsy."

The King, delighted, praised him for his skill
and made him a special graduate on the spot, gave
him his diploma, flowers for his hat, and issued a
proclamation saying that he had passed the A l-song
Examination. At once he ordered for him the head-
gear, the red coat, a horse to ride on, two boys to
go before, flute-players and harpers, saying, "Go
now to the picnic-party and show yourself."

While the picnickers were thus engaged, sud-
denly they heard the sound of flutes and harps, and

132 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

they questioned as to what it could mean. This
was not the time for new graduates to go abroad.
While they looked, behold, here came a victorious
candidate, dressed in ceremonial robes, heralded
by boys, and riding on the King's palfrey, to greet
them. On closer view they saw that it was the
uncouth countryman whom they had left behind at
the Temple. They asked what it meant, and then
learned, to their amazement, that the King had so
honoured him. The company, in consternation and
surprise, broke up and returned home at once.

This special graduate became later, through the
favour of the King, a great and noted man.

IM BANG.

XXVII

THERE was a man of Yong-nam, named Yoo,
who lived in the days of Se-jong. He had studied
the classics, had passed his examinations, and had
become a petty official attached to the Confucian
College. He was not even of the sixth degree, so
that promotion was out of the question. He was
a countryman who had no friends and no influence,
and though he had long been in Seoul there was
no likelihood of any advancement. Such being the
case, disheartened and lonely, he decided to leave
the city and go back to his country home.

There was a palace secretary who knew this
countryman, and who went to say good-bye to him
before he left.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the country-
man said, "I have long been in Seoul, but have
never yet seen the royal office of the secretaries.
Might I accompany you some day when you take
your turn ? "

The secretary said, "In the daytime there is
always a crowd of people who gather there for

133

184 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

business, and no one is allowed in without a special
pass. I am going in to-morrow, however, and
intend to sleep there, so that in the evening we
could have a good chance to look the Palace over.
People are not allowed to sleep in the Palace as a
rule, but doing so once would not be specially
noticed." The secretary then gave orders to the
military guard who accompanied him to escort this
man in the next day.

As the secretary had arranged, the countryman,
on the evening following, made his way into the
Palace enclosure, but what was his surprise to find
that, for some reason or other, the secretary had
not come. The gates, also, were closed behind him,
so that he could not get out. Really he was in a
fix. There chanced to be a body-servant of the
secretary in the room, and he, feeling sorry for the
stranger, arranged a hidden corner where he might
pass the night, and then quietly take his departure
in the morning.

The night was beautifully clear, and apparently
every one slept but Yoo. He was wide awake, and
wondering to himself if he might not go quietly out
and see the place.

It was the time of the rainy season, and a portion
of the wall had fallen from the enclosure just in
front. So Yoo climbed over this broken wall, and,
not knowing where he went, found himself suddenly

THE FORTUNES OF YOO 135

in the royal quarters. It was a beautiful park, with
trees, and lakes, and walks. "Whose house is
this," thought Yoo, "with its beautiful garden?"
Suddenly a man appeared, with a nice new cap on
his head, carrying a staff in his hand, and accom-
panied by a servant, walking slowly towards him.
It was no other than King Se-jong, taking a stroll
in the moonlight with one of his eunuchs.

When they met Yoo had no idea that it was the
King. His Majesty asked, "Who are you, and
how did you get in here ? "

He told who he was, and how he had agreed to
come in with the secretary ; how the secretary had
failed; how the gates were shut and he was a
prisoner for the night ; how he had seen the bright
moonlight and wished to walk out, and, finding the
broken wall, had come over. "Whose house is
this, anyway ? " asked Yoo.

The King replied, "I am the master of this
house." His Majesty then asked him in, and made
him sit down on a mat beside him. So they talked
and chatted together. The King learned that he
had passed special examinations in the classics, and
inquiring how it was that Yoo had had no better
office, Yoo replied that he was an unknown country-
man, that his family had no influence, and that,
while he desired office, he was forestalled by the
powerful families of the capital. "Who is there,"

136 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

he asked, "that would bother himself about me?
Thus all my hopes have failed, and I have just
decided to leave the city and go back home and live
out my days there."

The King asked again, "You know the classics
so well, do you know something also of the Book
of Changes ? "

He replied, "The deeper parts I do not know,
but the easier parts only."

Then the King ordered a eunuch to bring the
Book of Changes. It was the time when his
Majesty was reading it for himself. The book was
brought and opened in the moonlight. The King
looked up a part that had given him special
difficulty, and this the stranger explained character
by character, giving the meaning with convincing
clearness. The King was delighted and wondered
greatly, and so they read together all through the
night. When they separated the King said, "You
have all this knowledge and yet have never been
made use of? Alas, for my country!" said he,
sighing.

Yoo remarked that he would like to go straight
home now, if the master would kindly open the door
for him.

The King said, however, that it was too early
yet, and that he might be arrested by the guards

THE FORTUNES OF YOO 137

who were about. "Go then," said he, "to where
you were, and when it is broad daylight you can
go through the open gate."

Yoo then bade good-bye, and went back over
the broken wall to his corner in the secretary's
room. When morning came he went out through
the main gateway and returned to his home.

On the following day the King sent a special
secretary and had Yoo appointed to the office of
Overseer of Literature. On the promulgation of
this the officials gathered in the public court, and
protested in high dudgeon against so great an office
being given to an unknown person.

His Majesty, however, said, "If you are so
opposed to it, I'll desist."

But the day following he appointed him to an
office one degree still higher. Again they all pro-
tested, and his Majesty said, "Really, if you so
object, I'll drop the matter."

The day following he appointed him to an office
still one degree higher. Again they all protested
and he apparently yielded to them. But the day
following higher still he was promoted, and again
the protests poured in, so much so that his Majesty
seemed to yield. On the day following this the
King wrote out for him the office of Vice-President
of all the Literati.

138 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The high officials gathered again and inquired
of one another as to what the King meant, and
what they had better do about it. "If we do not
in some way prevent it, he will appoint him as
President of the Literati." They decided to drop
the matter for the present, and see later what was
best to do.

A royal banquet was announced to take place,
when all the officials gathered. On this occasion
the high Ministers of State said quietly to the King,
"It is not fitting that so obscure a person have so
important an office. Your Majesty's promoting
him as you have done has thrown the whole official
body into a state of consternation. On our protest
you have merely promoted him more. What is
your Majesty's reason, please, for this action ? "

The King made no reply, but ordered a eunuch
to bring the Book of Changes. He opened it at
the place of special difficulty, and inquired as to
its meaning. Even among the highest ministers
not one could give an answer. He inquired by
name of this one and that, but all were silent. The
King then said, "I am greatly interested in the
reading of the Book of Changes; it is the great
book of the sages. Any one who understands it
surely ought to be promoted. You, all of you, fail
to grasp its meaning, while Yoo, whom you protest

THE FORTUNES OF YOO 189

against, has explained it all to me. Now what
have you to say? Yoo's being promoted thus is
just as it ought to be. Why do you object? I
shall promote him still more and more, so cease
from all opposition."

They were afraid and ashamed, and did not again
mention it.

Yoo from that time on became the royal teacher
of the Choo-yuk (Book of Changes), and rose
higher and higher in rank, till he became Head of
the Confucian College and first in influence, sur-
passing all.

Note. — Many people of ability have no chance
for promotion. It is difficult to have one's gifts
known in high places; how much more difficult
before a king? The good fortune that fell to the
first scholar was of God's appointment. By caring
for a vacant house the honour came to him, and
he was promoted. The other's going thus unbidden
into the Palace was a great wrong, but by royal
favour he was pardoned, received and honoured.

By one line of poetry a man's ability was made
manifest, and by one explanation of the Choo-yuk
another's path was opened to high promotion.

If Se-jong had not been a great and enlightened
king, how could it have happened ? Very rare are

140 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

such happenings, indeed ! So all men wondered
over what had befallen these two. I, however,
wondered more over the King's sagacity in finding
them. To my day his virtue and accomplishments
are known, so that the world calls him Korea's
King of the Golden Age.

IM BANG.

XXVIII

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOBGOBLIN

I GOT myself into trouble in the year Pyong-sin,
and was locked up; a military man by the name
of Choi Won-so, who was captain of the guard,
was involved in it and locked up as well. We
often met in prison and whiled away the hours
talking together. On a certain day the talk turned
on goblins, when Captain Choi said, "When I was
young I met with a hobgoblin, which, by the frac-
tion of a hair, almost cost me my life. A strange
case indeed ! "

I asked him to tell me of it, when he replied, "I
had originally no home in Seoul, but hearing of a
vacant place in Belt Town, I made application and
got it. We went there, my father and the rest of
the family occupying the inner quarters, while I
lived in the front room.

"One night, late, when I was half asleep, the door
suddenly opened, and a woman came in and stood
just before the lamp. I saw her clearly, and knew
that she was from the home of a scholar friend, for
I had seen her before and had been greatly attracted

142 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

by her beauty, but had never had a chance to meet
her. Now, seeing her enter the room thus, I greeted
her gladly, but she made no reply. I arose to take
her by the hand, when she began walking back-
wards, so that my hand never reached her. I
rushed towards her, but she hastened her backward
pace, so that she eluded me. We reached the gate,
which she opened with a rear kick, and I followed
on after, till she suddenly disappeared. I searched
on all sides, but not a trace was there of her. I
thought she had merely hidden herself, and never
dreamed of anything else.

"On the next night she came again and stood
before the lamp just as she had done the night
previous. I got up and again tried to take hold
of her, but again she began her peculiar pace back-
wards, till she passed out at the gate and disappeared
just as she had done the day before. I was once
more surprised and disappointed, but did not think
of her being a hobgoblin.

"A few days later, at night, I had lain down,
when suddenly there was a sound of crackling
paper overhead from above the ceiling. A for-
bidding, creepy sound it seemed in the midnight.
A moment later a curtain was let down that divided
the room into two parts. Again, later, a large fire
of coals descended right in front of me, while an
immense heat filled the place. Where I was seemed

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOBGOBLIN 148

all on fire, with no way of escape possible. In
terror for my life, I knew not what to do. On the
first cock-crow of morning the noise ceased, the
curtain went up, and the fire of coals was gone.
The place was as though swept with a broom, so
clean from every trace of what had happened.

"The following night I was again alone, but had
not yet undressed or lain down, when a great stout
man suddenly opened the door and came in. He
had on his head a soldier's felt hat, and on his
body a blue tunic like one of the underlings of the
yamen. He took hold of me and tried to drag me
out. I was then young and vigorous, and had no
intention of yielding to him, so we entered on a
tussle. The moon was bright and the night clear,
but I, unable to hold my own, was pulled out into
the court. He lifted me up and swung me round
and round, then went up to the highest terrace and
threw me down, so that I was terribly stunned. He
stood in front of me and kept me a prisoner. There
was a garden to the rear of the house, and a wall
round it. I looked, and within the wall were a
dozen or so of people. They were all dressed in
military hats and coats, and they kept shouting out,
1 Don't hurt him, don't hurt him.'

"The man that mishandled me, however, said in
reply, ' It's none of your business, none of your
business'; but they still kept up the cry, ' Don't

144 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

hurt him, don't hurt him'; and he, on the other
hand, cried, ' Never you mind ; none of your busi-
ness.' They shouted, ' The man is a gentleman of
the military class; do not hurt him.'

"The fellow merely said in reply, ' Even though
he is, it's none of your business ' ; so he took me
by the two hands and flung me up into the air, till
I went half-way and more to heaven. Then in my
fall I went shooting past Kyong-keui Province, past
Choong-chong, and at last fell to the ground in
Chulla. In my flight through space I saw all the
county towns of the three provinces as clear as day.
Again in Chulla he tossed me up once more. Again
I went shooting up into the sky and falling north-
ward, till I found myself at home, lying stupefied
below the verandah terrace. Once more I could
hear the voices of the group in the garden shouting,
' Don't hurt him — hurt him.' But the man said,
' None of your business — your business.'

"He took me up once more and flung me up
again, and away I went speeding off to Chulla, and
back I came again, two or three times in all.

"Then one of the group in the garden came
forward, took my tormentor by the hand and led
him away. They all met for a little to talk and
laugh over the matter, and then scattered and were
gone, so that they were not seen again.

"I lay motionless at the foot of the terrace till

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOBGOBLIN 145

the following morning, when my father found me
and had me taken in hand and cared for, so that I
came to, and we all left the haunted house, never to
go back."

Note. — There are various reasons by which a
place may be denominated a "haunted house." The
fact that there are hobgoblins in it makes it haunted.
If a good or "superior man" enters such a place
the goblins move away, and no word of being
haunted will be heard. Choi saw the goblin and
was greatly injured.

I understand that it is not only a question of men
fearing the goblins, but they also fear men. The
fact that there are so few people that they fear is
the saddest case of all. Choi was afraid of the
goblins, that is why they troubled him.

IM BANG.

XXIX

THE SNAKE'S REVENGE

THERE lived in ancient days an archer, whose
home was near the Water Gate of Seoul. He was
a man of great strength and famous for his valour.

Water Gate has reference to a hole under the
city wall, by which the waters of the Grand Canal
find their exit. In it are iron pickets to prevent
people's entering or departing by that way.

On a certain afternoon when this military officer
was taking a walk, a great snake was seen making
its way by means of the Water Gate. The snake's
head had already passed between the bars, but its
body, being larger, could not get through, so there
it was held fast. The soldier drew an arrow, and,
fitting it into the string, shot the snake in the head.
Its head being fatally injured, the creature died.
The archer then drew it out, pounded it into a pulp,
and left it.

A little time later the man's wife conceived and
bore a son. From the first the child was afraid
of its father, and when it saw him it used to cry

and seem greatly frightened. As it grew it hated

146

THE SNAKE'S REVENGE 147

the sight of its father more and more. The man
became suspicious of this, and so, instead of loving
his son, he grew to dislike him.

On a. certain day, when there were just the two
of them in the room, the officer lay down to have
a midday siesta, covering his face with his sleeve,
but all the while keeping his eye on the boy to see
what he would do. The child glared at his father,
and thinking him asleep, got a knife and made a
thrust at him. The man jumped, grabbed the
knife, and then with a club gave the boy a blow
that left him dead on the spot. He pounded him
into a pulp, left him and went away. The mother,
however, in tears, covered the little form with a
quilt and prepared for its burial. In a little the
quilt began to move, and she in alarm raised it to
see what had happened, when lo ! beneath it the
child was gone and there lay coiled a huge snake
instead. The mother jumped back in fear, left the
room and did not again enter.

When evening came the husband returned and
heard the dreadful story from his wife. He went
in and looked, and now all had metamorphosed
into a huge snake. On the head of it was the
scar mark of the arrow that he had shot. He said
to the snake, "You and I were originally not
enemies, I therefore did wrong in shooting you as
I did; but your intention to take revenge through

148 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

becoming my son was a horrible deed. Such a
thing as this is proof that my suspicions of you
were right and just. You became my son in order
to kill me, your father ; why, therefore, should I not
in my turn kill you ? If you attempt it again, it
will certainly end in my taking your life. You
have already had your revenge, and have once
more transmigrated into your original shape, let
us drop the past and be friends from now on.
What do you say ? "

He repeated this over and urged his proposals,
while the snake with bowed head seemed to listen
intently. He then opened the door and said, "Now
you may go as you please." The snake then
departed, making straight for the Water Gate, and
passed out between the bars. It did not again
appear.

Note. — Man is a spiritual being, and different
from all other created things, and though a snake
has power of venom, it is still an insignificant thing
compared with a man. The snake died, and by
means of the transmigration of its soul took its
revenge. Man dies, but I have never heard that
he can transmigrate as the snake did. Why is it
that though a spiritual being he is unable to do
what beasts do? I have seen many innocent men
killed, but not one of them has ever returned to

THE SNAKE'S REVENGE 149

take his revenge on the lawless one who did it, and
so I wonder more than ever over these stories of
the snake. The Superior Man's knowing nothing
of the law that governs these things is a regret to
me.

IM BANG.

XXX

THE BRAVE MAGISTRATE

IN olden times in one of the counties of North
Ham-kyong Province, there was an evil-smelling
goblin that caused great destruction to life. Suc-
cessive magistrates appeared, but in ten days or so
after arrival, in each case they died in great agony,
so that no man wished to have the billet or any-
thing to do with the place. A hundred or more
were asked to take the post, but they all refused.
At last one brave soldier, who was without any
influence socially or politically, accepted. He was
a courageous man, strong and fearless. He
thought, "Even though there is a devil there, all
men will not die, surely. I shall make a trial of
him." So he said his farewell, and entered on
his office. He found himself alone in the yamen,
as all others had taken flight. He constantly
carried a long knife at his belt, and went thus
armed, for he noticed from the first day a fishy,
stinking odour, that grew gradually more and more
marked.

After five or six days he took note, too, that what
150

THE BRAVE MAGISTRATE 151

looked like a mist would frequently make its entry
by the outer gate, and from this mist came this
stinking smell. Daily it grew more and more
annoying, so that he could not stand it longer.
In ten days or so, when the time arrived for him
to die, the yamen-runners and servants, who had
returned, again ran away. The magistrate kept
a jar of whisky by his side, from which he drank
frequently to fortify his soul. On this day he
grew very drunk, and thus waited. At last he
saw something coming through the main gateway
that seemed wrapped in fog, three or four embraces
in waist size, and fifteen feet or so high. There
was no head to it, nor were body or arms visible.
Only on the top were two dreadful eyes rolling
wildly. The magistrate jumped up at once, rushed
toward it, gave a great shout and struck it with his
sword. When he gave it the blow there was the
sound of thunder, and the whole thing dissipated.
Also the foul smell that accompanied it disappeared
at once.

The magistrate then, in a fit of intoxication, fell
prone. The retainers, all thinking him dead, gathered
in the courtyard to prepare for his burial. They
saw him fallen to the earth, but they remarked that
the bodies of others who had died from this evil
had all been left on the verandah, but his was in
the lower court. They raised him up in order to

152 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

prepare him for burial, when suddenly he came to
life, looked at them in anger, and asked what they
meant. Fear and amazement possessed them.
From that time on there was no more smell.

IM BANG.

XXXI

THE TEMPLE TO THE GOD OF WAR

[Yi HANG-BOK — When he was a child a blind
fortune-teller came and cast his future, saying,
"This boy will be very great indeed."

At seven years of age his father gave him for
subject to write a verse on "The Harp and the
Sword," and he wrote —

" The Sword pertains to the Hand of the Warrior
And the Harp to the Music of the Ancients."

At eight he took the subject of the "Willow
before the Door," and wrote —

" The east wind brushes the brow of the cliff
And the willow on the edge nods fresh and green."

On seeing a picture of a great banquet among
the fierce Turks of Central Asia, he wrote thus —

" The hunt is off in the wild dark hills,

And the moon is cold and gray,
While the tramping feet of a thousand horse

Ring on the frosty way.
In the tents of the Turk the music thrills

And the wine-cups chink for joy,
'Mid the noise of the dancer's savage tread
And the lilt of the wild hautboy."
153

154 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

At twelve years of age he was proud, we are told,
and haughty. He dressed well, and was envied by
the poorer lads of the place, and once he took off
his coat and gave it to a boy who looked with
envy on him. He gave his shoes as well, and came
back barefoot. His mother, wishing to know his
mind in the matter, pretended to reprimand him,
but he replied, saying, "Mother, when others
wanted it so, how could I refuse giving ? " His
mother pondered these things in her heart.

When he was fifteen he was strong and well-
built, and liked vigorous exercise, so that he was
a noted wrestler and skilful at shuttlecock. His
mother, however, frowned upon these things,
saying that they were not dignified, so that he
gave them up and confined his attention to
literary studies, graduating at twenty-five years
of age.

In 1592, during the Japanese War, when the King
escaped to Eui-ju, Yi Hang-bok went with him in
his flight, and there he met the Chinese (Ming)
representative, who said in surprise to his Majesty,
"Do you mean to tell me that you have men in
Cho-sen like Yi Hang-bok?" Yang Ho, the
general of the rescuing forces, also continually
referred to him for advice and counsel. He lived
to see the troubles in the reign of the wicked
Kwang-hai, and at last went into exile to Puk-

THE TEMPLE TO THE GOD OF WAR 155

chong. When he crossed the Iron Pass near
Wonsan, he wrote —

"From the giddy height of the Iron Peak,

I call on the passing cloud,
To take up a lonely exile's tears

In the folds of its feathery shroud,
And drop them as rain on the Palace Gates,
On the King, and his shameless crowd."]

The Story

During the Japanese War in the reign of Son-jo,
the Mings sent a great army that came east, drove
out the enemy and restored peace. At that time
the general of the Mings informed his Korean
Majesty that the victory was due to the help of
Kwan, the God of War. "This being the case,"
said he, "you ought not to continue without
temples in which to express your gratitude to him."
So they built him houses of worship and offered
him sacrifice. The Temples built were one to the
south and one to the east of the city. In examin-
ing sites for these they could not agree on the one
to the south. Some wanted it nearer the wall and
some farther away. At that time an official, called
Yi Hang-bok, was in charge of the conference.
On a certain day when Yi was at home a military
officer called and wished to see him. Ordering
him in he found him a great strapping fellow,
splendidly built. His request was that Yi should

156 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

send out all his retainers till he talked to him
privately. They were sent out, and then the
stranger gave his message. After he had finished,
he said good-bye and left.

Yi had at that time an old friend stopping with
him. The friend went out with the servants when
they were asked to leave, and now he came back
again. When he came in he noticed that the face
of the master had a very peculiar expression, and
he asked him the reason of it. Yi made no
reply at first, but later told his friend that a very
extraordinary thing had happened. The military
man who had come and called was none other
than a messenger of the God of War. His coming,
too, was on account of their not yet having decided
in regard to the site for the Temple. "He came,"
said Yi, "to show me where it ought to be. He
urged that it was not a matter for time only, but for
the eternities to come. If we do not get it right
the God of War will find no peace. I told him
in reply that I would do my best. Was this not
strange ? "

The friend who heard this was greatly exercised,
but Yi warned him not to repeat it to any one.
Yi used all his efforts, and at last the building was
placed on the approved site, where it now stands.

IM BANG.

XXXII

A VISIT FROM THE SHADES

[Cnoi YU-WON. — (The story of meeting his
mother's ghost is reported to be of this man.)

Choi Yu-won matriculated in 1579 and graduated
in 1602, becoming Chief Justice and having con-
ferred on him the rank of prince. When he was
a boy his great-aunt once gave him cloth for a
suit of clothes, but he refused to accept of it, and
from this his aunt prophesied that he would yet
become a famous man. He studied in the home
of the great teacher Yul-gok, and Yul-gok also
foretold that the day would come when he would
be an honour to Korea.

Yu-won once met Chang Han-kang and inquired
of him concerning Pyon-wha Keui-jil (a law by
which the weak became strong, the wicked good,
and the stupid wise). He also asked that if one
be truly transformed will the soul change as well
as the body, or the body only? Chang replied,
" Both are changed, for how could the body change
without the soul ? " Yu-won asked Yul-gok con-

158 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

cerning this also, and Yul-gok replied that Chang's
words were true.

In 1607 Choi Yu-won memorialized the King,
calling attention to a letter received from Japan in
answer to a communication sent by his Majesty,
which had on its address the name of the Prime
Minister, written a space lower than good form
required. The Korean envoy had not protested,
as duty would require of him, and yet the King
had advanced him in rank. The various officials
commended him for his courage.

In 1612, while he was Chief Justice, King
Kwang-hai tried to degrade the Queen Dowager,
who was not his own mother, he being born of a
concubine, but Yu-won besought him with tears
not to do so illegal and unnatural a thing. Still
the King overrode all opposition, and did according
to his un filial will. In it all Choi Yu-won was
proven a good man and a just. He used to say
to his companions, even as a youth, "Death is
dreadful, but still, better death for righteousness'
sake and honour than life in disgrace." Another
saying of his runs, "All one's study is for the
development of character; if it ends not in that it
is in vain."

Korea's ancient belief was that the blood of a
faithful son served as an elixir of life to the dying,
so that when his mother was at the point of death

A VISIT FROM THE SHADES 159

Yu-won with a knife cut flesh from his thigh till
the blood flowed, and with this he prepared his
magic dose.]

The Story

There was a minister in olden days who once,
when he was Palace Secretary, was getting ready
for office in the morning. He had on his cere-
monial dress. It was rather early, and as he leaned
on his arm-rest for a moment, sleep overcame him.
He dreamt, and in the dream he thought he was
mounted and on his journey. He was crossing the
bridge at the entrance to East Palace Street, when
suddenly he saw his mother coming towards him
on foot. He at once dismounted, bowed, and said,
"Why do you come thus, mother, not in a chair,
but on foot?"

She replied, "I have already left the world, and
things are not where I am as they are where you
are, and so I walk."

The secretary asked, "Where are you going,
please ? "

She replied, "We have a servant living at Yong-
san, and they are having a witches' prayer service
there just now, so I am going to partake of the
sacrifice."

"But," said the secretary, "we have sacrificial
days, many of them, at our own home, those of the

160 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

four seasons, also on the first and fifteenth of each
month. Why do you go to a servant's house and
not to mine ? "

The mother replied, "Your sacrifices are of no
interest to me, I like the prayers of the witches. If
there is no medium we spirits find no satisfaction.
I am in a hurry," said she, "and cannot wait
longer," so she spoke her farewell and was gone.

The secretary awoke with a start, but felt that
he had actually seen what had come to pass.

He then called a servant and told him to go at
once to So-and-So's house in Yong-san, and tell
a certain servant to come that night without fail.
"Go quickly," said the secretary, "so that you can
be back before I enter the Palace." Then he sat
down to meditate over it.

In a little the servant had gone and come again.
It was not yet broad daylight, and because it was
cold the servant did not enter straight, but went
first into the kitchen to warm his hands before the
fire. There was a fellow-servant there who asked
him, " Have you had something to drink ? "

He replied, "They are having a big witch busi-
ness on at Yong-san, and while the mutang (witch)
was performing, she said that the spirit that pos-
sessed her was the mother of the master here. On
my appearance she called out my name and said,
' This is a servant from our house.' Then she

A VISIT FROM THE SHADES 161

called me and gave me a big glass of spirit. She
added further, ' On my way here I met my son
going into the Palace.' "

The secretary, overhearing this talk from the
room where he was waiting, broke down and
began to cry. He called in the servant and made
fuller inquiry, and more than ever he felt assured
that his mother's spirit had really gone that morn-
ing to share in the koot (witches' sacrificial cere-
mony). He then called the mutang, and in behalf
of the spirit of his mother made her a great offer-
ing. Ever afterwards he sacrificed to her four
times a year at each returning season.

IM BANG.

THE FEARLESS CAPTAIN

THERE was formerly a soldier, Yee Man-ji of
Yong-nam, a strong and muscular fellow, and brave
as a lion. He had green eyes and a terrible coun-
tenance. Frequently he said, " Fear ! What is
fear ? " On a certain day when he was in his house
a sudden storm of rain came on, when there were
flashes of lightning and heavy claps of thunder.
At one of them a great ball of fire came tumbling
into his home and went rolling over the verandah,
through the rooms, into the kitchen and out into
the yard, and again into the servants' quarters.
Several times it went and came bouncing about. Its
blazing light and the accompanying noise made it a
thing of terror.

Yee sat in the outer verandah, wholly undis-
turbed. He thought to himself, "I have done no
wrong, therefore why need I fear the lightning?"
A moment later a flash struck the large elm tree in
front of the house and smashed it to pieces. The
rain then ceased and the thunder likewise.

Yee turned to see how it fared with his family,
162

THE FEARLESS CAPTAIN 163

and found them all fallen senseless. With the
greatest of difficulty he had them restored to life.
During that year they all fell ill and died, and Yee
came to Seoul and became a Captain of the Right
Guard. Shortly after he went to North Ham-
kyong Province. There he took a second wife and
settled down. All his predecessors had died of
goblin influences, and the fact that calamity had
overtaken them while in the official quarters had
caused them to use one of the village houses instead.

Yee, however, determined to live down all fear
and go back to the old quarters, which he exten-
sively repaired.

One night his wife was in the inner room while
he was alone in the public office with a light burn-
ing before him. In the second watch or thereabout,
a strange-looking object came out of the inner
quarters. It looked like the stump of a tree wrapped
in black sackcloth. There was no outline or definite
shape to it, and it came jumping along and sat
itself immediately before Yee Man-ji. Also two
other objects came following in its wake, shaped
just like the first one. The three then sat in a row
before Yee, coming little by little closer and closer
to him. Yee moved away till he had backed up
against the wall and could go no farther. Then he
said, "Who are you, anyhow; what kind of devil,
pray, that you dare to push towards me so in my

164 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

office ? If you have any complaint or matter to set
right, say so, and I'll see to it."

The middle devil said in reply, "I'm hungry, I'm
hungry, I'm hungry."

Yee answered, "Hungry, are you? Very well,
now just move back and I'll have food prepared for
you in abundance." He then repeated a magic
formula that he had learned, and snapped his
fingers. The three devils seemed to be afraid of
this. Then Man-ji suddenly closed his fist and
struck a blow at the first devil. It dodged, however,
most deftly and he missed, but hit the floor a
sounding blow that cut his hand.

Then they all shouted, "We'll go, we'll go, since
you treat guests thus." At once they bundled out
of the room and disappeared.

On the following day he had oxen killed and a
sacrifice offered to these devils, and they returned
no more.

Note. — Men have been killed by goblins. This
is not so much due to the fact that goblins are
wicked as to the fact that men are afraid of them.
Many died in North Ham-kyong, but those again
who were brave, and clove them with a knife, or
struck them down, lived. If they had been afraid,
they too would have died.

IM BANG.

XXXIV

THE KING OF YOM-NA (HELL)

[PAK CHOM was one of the Royal Censors, and
died in the Japanese War of 1592.]

The Story

In Yon-nan County, Whang-hai Province, there
was a certain literary graduate whose name I have
forgotten. He fell ill one day and remained in
his room, leaning helplessly against his arm-rest.
Suddenly several spirit soldiers appeared to him,
saying, "The Governor of the lower hell has ordered
your arrest," so they bound him with a chain about
his neck, and led him away. They journeyed for
many hundreds of miles, and at last reached a place
that had a very high wall. The spirits then took
him within the walls and went on for a long distance.

There was within this enclosure a great structure
whose height reached to heaven. They arrived at
the gate, and the spirits who had him in hand led
him in, and when they entered the inner courtyard
they laid him down on his face.

Glancing up he saw what looked like a king seated
165

166 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

on a throne ; grouped about him on each side were
attendant officers. There were also scores of
secretaries and soldiers going and coming on
pressing errands. The King's appearance was most
terrible, and his commands such as to fill one with
awe. The graduate felt the perspiration break out
on his back, and he dared not look up. In a little a
secretary came forward, stood in front of the raised
dais to transmit commands, and the King asked,
" Where do you come from ? What is your name ?
How old are you ? What do you do for a living ?
Tell me the truth now, and no dissembling."

The scholar, frightened to death, replied, "My
clan name is So-and-so, and my given name is So-
and-so. I am so old, and I have lived for several
generations at Yon-nan, Whang-hai Province. I
am stupid and ill-equipped by nature, so have not
done anything special. I have heard all my life
that if you say your beads with love and pity in
your heart you will escape hell, and so have given
my time to calling on the Buddha, and dispensing
alms."

The secretary, hearing this, went at once and
reported it to the King. After some time he came
back with a message, saying, "Come up closer to
the steps, for you are not the person intended. It
happens that you bear the same name and you have
thus been wrongly arrested. You may go now."

THE KING OF YOM-NA (HELL) 167

The scholar joined his hands and made a deep
bow. Again the secretary transmitted a message
from the King, saying, "My house, when on earth,
was in such a place in such and such a ward of
Seoul. When you go back I want to send a mes-
sage by you. My coming here is long, and the
outer coat I wear is worn to shreds. Ask my people
to send me a new outer coat. If you do so I shall
be greatly obliged, so see that you do not forget."

The scholar said, "Your Majesty's message given
me thus direct I shall pass on without fail, but the
ways of the two worlds, the dark world and the
light, are so different that when I give the message
the hearers will say I am talking nonsense. True,
I'll give it just as you have commanded, but what
about it if they refuse to listen ? I ought to have
some evidence as proof to help me out."

The King made answer, "Your words are true,
very true. This will help you : Wihen I was on
earth," said he, "one of my head buttons1 that I
wore had a broken edge, and I hid it in the third
volume of the Book of History. I alone know of it,
no one else in the world. If you give this as a proof
they will listen."

The scholar replied, "That will be satisfactory,
but again, how shall I do in case they make the new
coat ? "

1 The head button is the insignia of rank, and is consequently
a valuable heirloom in a Korean home. — J. S. G.

168 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

The reply was, " Prepare a sacrifice, offer the coat
by fire, and it will reach me."

He then bade good-bye, and the King sent with
him two soldier guards. He asked the soldiers, as
they came out, who the one seated on the throne
was. " He is the King of Hades," said they ; " his
surname is Pak and his given name is Oo."

They arrived at the bank of a river, and the two
soldiers pushed him into the water. He awoke with
a start, and found that he had been dead for three
days.

When he recovered from his sickness he came up
to Seoul, searched out the house indicated, and
made careful inquiry as to the name, finding that it
was no other than Pak Oo. Pak Oo had two sons,
who at that time had graduated and were holding
office. The graduate wanted to see the sons of this
King of Hades, but the gatekeeper would not let
him in. Therefore he stood before the red gate
waiting helplessly till the sun went down. Then
came out from the inner quarters of the house an old
servant, to whom he earnestly made petition that he
might see the master. On being thus requested, the
servant returned and reported it to the master, who,
a little later, ordered him in. On entering, he saw
two gentlemen who seemed to be chiefs. They had
him sit down, and then questioned him as to who he
was and what he had to say.

THE KING OF YOM-NA (HELL) 169

He replied, "I am a student living in Yon-nan
County, Whang-hai Province. On such and such
a day I died and went into the other world, where
your honorable father gave me such and such a
commission."

The two listened for a little and then, without
waiting to hear all that he had to say, grew very
angry and began to scold him, saying, " How dare
such a scarecrow as you come into our house and
say such things as these ? This is stuff and nonsense
that you talk. Pitch him out," they shouted to the
servants.

He, however, called back saying, " I have a proof ;
listen. If it fails, why then, pitch me out."

One of the two said, "What possible proof can
you have ? " Then the scholar told with great
exactness and care the story of the head button.

The two, in astonishment over this, had the book
taken down and examined, and sure enough in Vol.
Ill of the Book of History was the button referred
to. Not a single particular had failed. It proved to
be a button that they had missed after the death of
their father, and that they had searched for in vain.

Accepting the message now as true, they all
entered upon a period of mourning.

The women of the family also called in the
scholar and asked him specially of what he had
seen. So they made the outer coat, chose a day, and

170 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

offered it by fire before the ancestral altar. Three
days after the sacrifice the scholar dreamed, and the
family of Pak dreamed too, that the King of Hades
had come and given to each one of them his thanks
for the coat. They long kept the scholar at their
home, treating him with great respect, and became
his firm friends for ever after.

Pak Oo was a great-grandson of Minister Pak
Chom. While he held office he was honest and just
and was highly honoured by the people. When he
was Mayor of Hai-ju there arose a dispute between
him and the Governor, which proved also that Pak
was the honest man.

When I was at Hai-ju, Choi Yu-chom, a
graduate, told me this story.

IM BANG.

XXXV

HONG'S EXPERIENCES IN HADES

HONG NAI-POM was a military graduate who was
born in the year A.D. 1561, and lived in the city of
Pyeng-yang. He passed his examination in the
year 1603, and in the year 1637 attained to the Third
Degree. He was 82 in the year 1643, and his son
Sonn memorialized the King asking that his father
be given rank appropriate to his age. At that time
a certain Han Hong-kil was chief of the Royal
Secretaries, and he refused to pass on the request to
his Majesty ; but in the year 1644, when the Crown
Prince was returning from his exile in China, he
came by way of Pyeng-yang. Sonn took advantage
of this to present the same request to the Crown
Prince. His Highness received it, and had it
brought to the notice of the King. In consequence,
Hong received the rank of Second Degree.

On receiving it he said, "This year I shall die,"
and a little later he died.

In the year 1594, Hong fell ill of typhus fever,
and after ten days of suffering, died. They pre-
pared his body for burial, and placed it in a coffin.

171

172 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

Then the friends and relatives left, and his wife
remained alone in charge. Of a sudden the body
turned itself and fell with a thud to the ground.
The woman, frightened, fainted away, and the other
members of the family came rushing to her help.
From this time on the body resumed its functions,
and Hong lived.

Said he, "In my dream I went to a certain region,
a place of great fear where many persons were
standing around, and awful ogres, some of them
wearing bulls' heads, and some with faces of wild
beasts. They crowded about and jumped and
pounced toward me in all directions. A scribe
robed in black sat on a platform and addressed me,
saying, ' There are three religions on earth, Con-
fucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. According to
Buddhism, you know that heaven and hell are
places that decide between man's good and evil
deeds. You have ever been a blasphemer of the
Buddha, and a denier of a future life, acting always
as though you knew everything, blustering and
storming. You are now to be sent to hell, and ten
thousand kalpas 1 will not see you out of it.'

"Then two or three constables carrying spears

came and took me off. I screamed, ' You are

wrong, I am innocently condemned.' Just at that

moment a certain Buddha, with a face of shining

1 Kalpa means a Buddhistic age.

HONG'S EXPERIENCES IN HADES 178

gold, came smiling toward me, and said, ' There is
truly a mistake somewhere ; this man must attain to
the age of eighty-three and become an officer of the
Second Degree ere he dies.' Then addressing me
he asked, ' How is it that you have come here?
The order was that a certain Hong of Chon-ju be
arrested and brought, not you; but now that you
have come, look about the place before you go, and
tell the world afterwards of what you have seen.'

"The guards, on hearing this, took me in hand
and brought me first to a prison-house, where a sign
was posted up, marked, ' Stirrers up of Strife.' I
saw in this prison a great brazier-shaped pit, built
of stones and filled with fire. Flames arose and forked
tongues. The stirrers up of strife were taken and
made to sit close before it. I then saw one infernal
guard take a long rod of iron, heat it red-hot, and
put out the eyes of the guilty ones. I saw also that
the offenders were hung up like dried fish. The
guides who accompanied me, said, ' While these
were on earth they did not love their brethren, but
looked at others as enemies. They scoffed at the
laws of God and sought only selfish gain, so they
are punished.'

"The next hell was marked, ' Liars.' In that hell
I saw an iron pillar of several yards in height, and
great stones placed before it. The offenders were
called up, and made to kneel before the pillar.

174 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

Then I saw an executioner take a knife and drive
a hole through the tongues of the offenders, pass
an iron chain through each, and hang them to the
pillar so that they dangled by their tongues several
feet from the ground. A stone was then taken and
tied to each culprit's feet. The stones thus bearing
down, and the chains being fast to the pillar, their
tongues were pulled out a foot or more, and their
eyes rolled in their sockets. Their agonies were
appalling. The guides again said, ' These
offenders when on earth used their tongues skilfully
to tell lies and to separate friend from friend, and so
they are punished.'

"The next hell had inscribed on it, ' Deceivers.'
I saw in it many scores of people. There were ogres
that cut the flesh from their bodies, and fed it to
starving demons. These ate and ate, and the flesh
was cut and cut till only the bones remained.
When the winds of hell blew, flesh returned to
them ; then metal snakes and copper dogs crowded
in to bite them and suck their blood. Their
screams of pain made the earth to tremble. The
guides said to me, ' When these offenders were on
earth they held high office, and while they pre-
tended to be true and good they received bribes in
secret and were doers of all evil. As Ministers of
State they ate the fat of the land and sucked the
blood of the people, and yet advertised themselves

HONG'S EXPERIENCES IN HADES 175

as benefactors and were highly applauded. While
in reality they lived as thieves, they pretended to be
holy, as Confucius and Mencius are holy. They
were deceivers of the world, and robbers, and so are
punished thus.'

"The guides then said, ' It is not necessary that
you see all the hells.' They said to one another,
4 Let's take him yonder and show him ; ' so they
went some distance to the south-east. There was a
great house with a sign painted thus, ' The Home
of the Blessed.' As I looked, there were beautiful
haloes encircling it, and clouds of glory. There
were hundreds of priests in cassock and surplice.
Some carried fresh-blown lotus flowers ; some were
seated like the Buddha; some were reading prayers.

"The guides said, ' These when on earth kept the
faith, and with undivided hearts served the Buddha,
and so have escaped the Eight Sorrows and the Ten
Punishments, and are now in the home of the
happy, which is called heaven.' When we had seen
all these things we returned.

"The golden-faced Buddha said to me, * Not
many on earth believe in the Buddha, and few know
of heaven and hell. What do you think of it ? '

"I bowed low and thanked him.

"Then the black-coated scribe said, ' I am
sending this man away; see him safely off.' The
spirit soldiers took me with them, and while on the

176 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

way I awakened with a start, and found that I had
been dead for four days."

Hong's mind was filled with pride on this
account, and he frequently boasted of it. His age
and Second Degree of rank came about just as the
Buddha had predicted.

His experience, alas ! was used as a means to
deceive people, for the Superior Man does not talk
of these strange and wonderful things.

Yi Tan, a Chinaman of the Song Kingdom, used
to say, "If there is no heaven, there is no heaven,
but if there is one, the Superior Man alone can
attain to it. If there is no hell, there is no hell, but
if there is one the bad man must inherit it."

If we examine Hong's story, while it looks like
a yarn to deceive the wrorld, it really is a story to
arouse one to right action. I, Im Bang, have
recorded it like Toi-chi, saying, "Don't find fault
with the story, but learn its lesson."

IM BANG.

XXXVI

HAUNTED HOUSES

THERE once lived a man in Seoul called Yi
Chang, who frequently told as an experience of his
own the following story : He was poor and had
no home of his own, so he lived much in quarters
loaned him by others. When hard pressed he even
went into haunted houses and lived there. Once,
after failing to find a place, he heard of one such
house in Ink Town (one of the wards of Seoul),
at the foot of South Mountain, which had been
haunted for generations and was now left vacant.
Chang investigated the matter, and finally decided
to take possession.

First, to find whether it was really haunted or not,
he called his elder brothers, Hugh and Haw, and
five or six of his relatives, and had them help clean
it out and sleep there. The house had one upper
room that was fast locked. Looking through a
chink, there was seen to be in the room a tablet
chair and a stand for it ; also there was an old harp
without any strings, a pair of worn shoes, and some
N 177

178 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

sticks and bits of wood. Nothing else was in the
room. Dust lay thick, as though it had gathered
through long years of time.

The company, after drinking wine, sat round
the table and played at games, watching the night
through. When it was late, towards midnight, they
suddenly heard the sound of harps and a great
multitude of voices, though the words were mixed
and unintelligible. It was as though many people
were gathered and carousing at a feast. The
company then consulted as to what they should do.
One drew a sword and struck a hole through the
partition that looked into the tower. Instantly
there appeared from the other side a sharp blade
thrust out towards them. It was blue in colour.
In fear and consternation they desisted from further
interference with the place. But the sound of the
harp and the revelry kept up till the morning. The
company broke up at daylight, withdrew from the
place, and never again dared to enter.

In the South Ward there was another haunted
house, of which Chang desired possession, so he
called his friends and brothers once more to make
the experiment and see whether it was really
haunted or not. On entering, they found two dogs
within the enclosure, one black and one tan, lying
upon the open verandah, one at each end. Their
eyes were fiery red, and though the company

H AUN TED^HOUSES 1 79

shouted at them they did not move. They neither
barked nor bit. But when midnight came these two
animals got up and went down into the court, and
began baying at the inky sky in a way most
ominous. They went jumping back and forth. At
that time, too, there came some one round the corner
of the house dressed in ceremonial robes. The two
dogs met him with great delight, jumping up before
and behind in their joy at his coming. He ascended
to the verandah, and sat down. Immediately five
or six multi-coloured demons appeared and bowed
before him, in front of the open space. The man
then led the demons and the dogs two or three
times round the house. They rushed up into the
verandah and jumped down again into the court;
backwards and forwards they came and went, till
at last all of them mysteriously disappeared. The
devils went into a hole underneath the floor, while
the dogs went up to their quarters and lay down.

The company from the inner room had seen this.
When daylight came they examined the place,
looked through the chinks of the floor, but saw
only an old, worn-out sieve and a few discarded
brooms. They went behind the house and found
another old broom poked into the chimney. They
ordered a servant to gather them up and have them
burned. The dogs lay as they were all day long,
and neither ate nor moved. Some of the party

180 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

wished to kill the brutes, but were afraid, so fear-
some was their appearance.

This night again they remained, desiring to see
if the same phenomena would appear. Again at
midnight the two dogs got down into the court and
began barking up at the sky. The man in cere-
monial robes again came, and the devils, just as the
day before.

The company, in fear and disgust, left the
following morning, and did not try it again.

A friend, hearing this of Chang, went and asked
about it from Hugh and Haw, and they confirmed
the story.

There is still another tale of a graduate who was
out of house and home and went into a haunted
dwelling in Ink Town, which was said to have had
the tower where the mysterious sounds were heard.
They opened the door, broke out the window, took
out the old harp, the spirit chair, the shoes and sticks,
and had them burned. Before the fire had finished
its work, one of the servants fell down and died.
The graduate, seeing this, in fear and dismay put
out the fire, restored the things and left the house.

Again there was another homeless man who tried
it. In the night a woman in a blue skirt came down
from the loft, and acted in a peculiar and uncanny
way. The man, seeing this, picked up his belong-
ings and left.

HAUNTED HOUSES 181

Again, in South Kettle Town, there were a
number of woodmen who in the early morning
were passing behind the haunted house, when they
found an old woman sitting weeping under a tree.
They thinking her an evil bogey, one man came up
behind and gave her a thrust with his sickle. The
witch rushed off into the house, her height
appearing to be only about one cubit and a span.

IM BANG.

XXXVII

IM, THE HUNTER

[!M KYONG-UP. — One of Korea's most famous
generals, who fought in behalf of China in 1628
against the Manchus. He is worshipped to-day in
many parts of Korea.]

The Story

When General Im Kyong^up was young he
lived in the town of Tallai. In those days he loved
the chase, and constantly practised riding and
hunting. Once he went off on an excursion to
track the deer in Wol-lak Mountains. He carried
only a sword, and made the chase on foot. In his
pursuit of the animal he went as far as Tai-paik
Mountain. There night overtook him, and the
way was hidden in the darkness. There were
yawning chasms and great horns and cliffs on
all sides. While he was in a state of perplexity
he met a woodman, and asked him where the road
was and how he ought to go. The woodman

directed him to a cliff opposite, "where," said he,

182

IM, THE HUNTER 188

"there is a house." Im heard this and crossed over
to the farther ridge. On approaching more nearly
he found a great tiled mansion standing alone with-
out a single house about it. He went in by the
main gateway, but found all quiet and dark and no
one in sight. It was a vacant house, evidently
deserted. After travelling all day in the hills Im
was full of fears and creepy feelings. So he viewed
the place with mistrust, fearing that there might
be hill goblins in it or tree devils, but a moment
later some one opened the room door and shouted
out, "Do you sleep here? Have you had some-
thing to eat?"

Im looked and discovered that it was the same
person that had directed him on his way. He said
in reply, "I have not eaten anything and am
hungry." So the man opened the wall box and
brought him out wine and meat. He, being exceed-
ingly hungry, ate all. Then they sat down to talk
together, and after a little the woodman got up,
opened the box once more, and took from it a great
sword. Im-asked, "What is this you have; do you
intend to kill me? "

The woodman laughed and said, "No, no, but
to-night there is something on hand worth the see-
ing. Will you come with me and not be afraid ? "

Im said, "Of course I am not afraid; I want to
see."

184 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

It was then about midnight, and the woodman,
with the sword in his hand, took Im and went to
one side thro'ugh a succession of gates that seemed
never ending. At last they came to a place where
lights were reflected on a pond of water. There
was a high pavilion apparently in the middle of
the lake, and from the inside of it came the lights.
There were sounds, too, of laughter and talking
that came from the upper storey. Through the
sliding doors he could distinguish two people seated
together. There was another pavilion to the right
of the lake and a large tree near it, up which the
woodman told Im to climb.

"When you get well up," said he, "take your
belt, tie yourself fast to the trunk and keep per-
fectly still."

Im climbed the tree as directed, and made him-
self secure. From this point of vantage he looked
intently, and the first thing he saw was the wood-
man give a leap that cleared the lake and landed
him in the pavilion. At once he ascended to the
upper storey, and now Im could distinguish three
persons sitting talking and laughing. He heard
the woodman, after drinking, say to his neigh-
bour, "We have made our wager, now let's see
it out." The man replied, "Let's do so." Then
both arose, came down to the entrance, and vaulted
off into mid-air, where they disappeared from sight.

IM, THE HUNTER 185

Nothing could be distinguished now but the clash-
ing of steel and flashes of fire, which kept up for
a long time.

In beholding this from the tree top, where he
was stationed, his bones grew cold and his hair
stood stiff on end. He knew not what to do.
Then a moment later he heard something fall to
the ground with a great thud. A cry of victory
arose too, and he recognized that it was the wood-
man's voice. Chills ran all over him, and goose-
flesh covered his skin ; only after a long time could
he gain control of himself. He came down from
the tree and the woodman met him, took him
suddenly under his arm, and vaulted over into the
pavilion. Here he met a beautiful woman with
hair like fleecy clouds. Before the fight the
woman's voice was evidently full of hilarity, but
now she was overcome with grief and tears.

The woodman spoke roughly to her, saying, " Do
you not know that you, a wicked woman, have
caused the death of a great man ? " The wood-
man said also to Im, "You have courage and valour
in your way, but it is not sufficient to meet a world
like this. I will now give you this woman, and
this house, so you can bid farewell to the dusty
world and live here in peace and quiet for the rest
of your days."

Im replied, "What I have seen to-night I am at

186 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

a loss to understand. I'd like to know the meaning
of it first; please tell me. After hearing that I'll
do what you ask."

The woodman said, "~f am not an ordinary mortal
of the world, but am an outlaw of the hills and
woods. I am a robber, really, and by robbing
have many such a house as this. Not only here
but in all the provinces I have homes abundant, a
beautiful woman in each, and rich and dainty fare.
All unexpectedly this woman has neglected me for
another man, and he and she have several times
tried to kill me. There being no help for it, I had
to kill him. I have killed the man, but I ought
truly to have killed the woman. Take this place,
then, off my hands, will you, and the woman too? "

But Im asked, "Who was the man, and where
did he live ? "

"There were," said the woodman, "mighty possi-
bilities in him, though he lived humbly inside the
South Gate of Seoul and sold cut tobacco. He
came here frequently, and I knew it, though I
winked at it all until they attempted to kill me, and
that brought matters to a head. It was not my
wish to kill him," and here the woodman broke
down and cried. "Alas, alas! " said he, "I have
killed a great and gifted man. Think it over,"
said he; "you have courage, but not enough to
make any mark in the world. You will fail half-

IM, THE HUNTER 187

way, the Fates have so decided. Cease from any
vain ambitions, for there is no way by which your
name can ever become famous. Do what I say,
then, and take over this woman and this home."

Im, however, shook his head and said, "I can't
do it."

The woodman asked, " Why can you not ? If
you do not, there is nothing for this woman but
death, so here I'll have done with it," and he
struck her with his sword and cut off her head.

The day following he said to Im, "Since you
are determined to go forth and do valiantly, I can-
not stop you, but if a man goes forth thus and
does not know the use of the sword he is helpless,
and at the mercy of the foe. Stay with me a little
and learn. I'll teach you."

Im stayed for six days and learned the use of
the sword.

ANON.

XXXVIII

THE MAGIC INVASION OF SEOUL

A GENTLEMAN of Seoul was one day crossing the
Han River in a boat. In the crossing, he nodded
for a moment, fell asleep and dreamed a dream.
In his dream he met a man who had Gothic eye-
brows and almond eyes, whose face was red as
ripened dates, and whose height was eight cubits
and a span. He was dressed in green and had a
long beard that came down to his belt-string. A
man of majestic appearance he was, with a great
sword at his side and he rode on a red horse.

He asked the gentleman to open his hand, which
he did, and then the august stranger dashed a pen-
mark on it as the sign of the God of War. Said
he, "When you cross the river, do not go direct
to Seoul, but wait at the landing. Seven horses
will shortly appear, loaded with network hampers,
all proceeding on their journey to the capital. You
are to call the horsemen, open your hand, and show
them the sign. When they see it they will all
commit suicide in your very presence. After that,
you are to take the loads and pile them up, but

1 88

THE MAGIC INVASION OF SEOUL 189

don't look into them. Then you are to go at once
and report the matter to the Palace and have them
all burned. The matter is of immense importance,
so do not fail in the slightest particular."

The gentleman gave a great start of terror and"
awoke. He looked at his hand and there, indeed,
was the strange mark. Not only so, but the ink
had not yet dried upon it. He was astonished
beyond measure, but did as the dream had indi-
cated, and waited on the river's bank. In a little
there came, as he was advised, the seven loads on
seven horses, coming from the far-distant South.
There were attendants in charge, and one man
wearing an official coat came along behind. When
they had crossed the river the gentleman called
them to him and said, "I have something to say
to you ; come close to me." These men, unsuspect-
ing, though with somewhat of a frightened look,
closed up. He then showed them his hand with
the mark, and asked them if they knew what it was.
When they saw it, first of all, the man in the official
coat turned and with one bound jumped over the
cliff into the river. The eight or nine who accom-
panied the loads likewise all rushed after him and
dashed into the water.

The scholar then called the boatmen, and ex-
plained to them that the things in the hampers
were dangerous, that he would have to make it

190 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

known to the Palace, and that in the meantime they
were to keep close guard, but that they were not to
touch them or look at them.

He hurried as fast as possible, and reported the
matter to the Board of War. The Board sent an
official, and had the loads brought into Seoul, and
then, as had been directed, they were piled high
with wood and set on fire. When the fire deve-
loped, the baskets broke open, and little figures of
men and horses, each an inch or so long, in count-
less numbers, came tumbling out.

When the officials saw this they were frozen with
fear; their hearts ceased beating and their tongues
lolled out. In a little, however, the hampers were
all burned up.

These were the creation of a magician, and were
intended for a monster invasion of Seoul, until
warned by Kwan.

From that time on the people of Seoul began
faithful offerings to the God of War, for had he
not saved the city?

IM BANG.

XXXIX

THE AWFUL LITTLE GOBLIN

THERE was an occasion for a celebration in the
home of a nobleman of Seoul, whereupon a feast,
to which were invited all the family friends, was
prepared. There was a great crowd of men and
women. In front of the women's quarters there
suddenly appeared an uncombed, ugly-looking boy
about fifteen years of age. The host and guests,
thinking him a coolie who had come in the train
of some visitor, did not ask specially concerning
him, but one of the women guests, seeing him in
the inner quarters, sent a servant to reprimand him
and put him out. The boy, however, did not move,
so the servant said to him, "Who are you, any-
way, and with whom did you come, that you enter
the women's quarters, and even when told to go
out do not go ? "

The boy, however, stood stock-still, just as he.
had been, with no word of reply.

The company looked at him in doubt, and began

to ask one another whose he was and with whom

191

192 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

he had come. Again they had the servant make
inquiry, but still there was no reply. The women
then grew very angry, and ordered him to be put
out. Several took hold of him and tried to pull
him, but he was like a fixed rock, fast in the earth,
absolutely immovable. In helpless rage they in-
formed the men.

The men, hearing this, sent several strong
servants, who took hold all at once, but he did not
budge a hair. They asked, "Who are you, any-
way ? " but he gave no reply. The crowd, then
enraged, sent ten strong men with ropes to bind
him, but like a giant mountain he remained fast,
so that they recognized that he could not be moved
by man's power.

One guest remarked, "But he, too, is human;
why cannot he be moved? " They then sent five or
six giant fellows with clubs to smash him to pieces,
and they laid on with all their might. It looked
as though he would be crushed like an egg-shell,
while the sound of their pounding was like rever-
berating thunder. But just as before, not a hair
did he turn, not a wink did he give.

Then the crowd began to fear, saying, "This
is not a man, but a god," so they entered the court-
yard, one and all, and began to bow before him,
joining their hands and supplicating earnestly.
They kept this up for a long time.

THE AWFUL LITTLE GOBLIN 193

At last the boy gave a sarcastic smile, turned
round, went out of the gate and disappeared.

The company, frightened out of their wits, called
off the feast. From that day on, the people of
that house were taken ill, including host and guests.
Those who scolded him, those who tied him with
ropes, those who pounded him, all died in a few
days. Other members of the company, too, con-
tracted typhus and the like, and died also.

It was commonly held that the boy was the
Too-uk Spirit, but we cannot definitely say.
Strange, indeed !

Note. — When the time comes for a clan to dis-
appear from the earth, calamity befalls it. Even
though a great spirit should come in at the door
at such a feast time, if the guests had done as Con-
fucius suggests, " Be reverent and distant," instead
of insulting him and making him more malignant
than ever, they would have escaped. Still, devils
and men were never intended to dwell together.

IM BANG.

XL

GOD'S WAY

IN a certain town there lived a man of fierce and
ungovernable disposition, who in moments of anger
used to beat his mother. One day this parent,
thus beaten, screamed out, "Oh, God, why do you
not strike dead this wicked man who beats his
mother ? "

The beating over, the son thrust his sickle
through his belt and went slowly off to the fields
where he was engaged by a neighbour in reaping
buckwheat. The day was fine, and the sky beauti-
fully clear. Suddenly a dark fleck of cloud
appeared in mid-heaven, and a little later all the
sky became black. Furious thunder followed, and
rain came on. The village people looked out
toward the field, where the flashes of lightning
were specially noticeable. They seemed to see
there a man with lifted sickle trying to ward them
off. When the storm had cleared away, they
went to see, and lo, they found the man who

194

GOD'S WAY 195

had beaten his mother struck dead and riven to
pieces.

God takes note of evil doers on this earth, and
deals with them as they deserve. How greatly
should we fear !

Yi RYUK.

XLI

THE OLD MAN IN THE DREAM

KWON JAI was a man high in rank and well
advanced in years. He was, however, much given
to sport and various kinds of pleasure. One night
he had a dream, when an old man came to him,
who bowed low, and in tears said, "Sir, Minister
Hong wishes to kill off me and all my posterity.
Please save me, won't you?"

Kwon asked, " How can I save you ? " The old
man replied, " Hong will assuredly ask Your Excel-
lency to help him. Desist from it, please, for if you
do, Hong will give it up and I shall live and all
mine."

A little later there came a rap at the door, when
Kwon awakened and asked, " Who is there ? "
It was Hong, who that day had planned an excur-
sion to Lotus Lake to fish for turtles, and now
had come specially to invite Kwon to go with

him.

196

THE OLD MAN IN THE DREAM 197

Then Kwon knew that the turtle had appeared
to him in a dream in the form of an old man, so
he declined, saying he was ill. I learned later that
Hong also did not go.

Yi RYUK.

XLII

THE PERFECT PRIEST

THERE was once a priest called Namnu who had
perfected his ways in the Buddhistic doctrine.
Whenever he had clothing of his own he would
willingly undress and give it to those who were
cold. His spirit was gentle with no creases or
corners in it. Everybody, high and low, rich and
poor, called him by the nickname of Softy. When-
ever he saw any one sentenced to a flogging in the
temple or official yamen, Namnu invariably begged
that he might take the culprit's place. Once, when
there was a great function in progress at Pagoda
Temple and many high officials were assembled,
Softy, too, was seen kneeling at the side and taking
part. He suddenly remarked to Prince Hong of
Yon-san, "You are indeed a very great man."

Hong replied, " What do you mean by ' great
man,' you impudent brat? Take that," and he
gave him a box with his fist on the ear. Softy
laughed, and said, "Please, Hong, don't do that, it
hurts ! it hurts ! "

Later I was in the train of Prince Yi of Yun-
198

THE PERFECT PRIEST 199

song, and other high officials were present, when
we stopped for a little before the Temple. Softy
was there, and he looked at Yi and said, "I know
your face, but I have forgotten your name." After-
wards he said, "Oh, I remember now, you are Yi
Sok-hyong." The priests of the monastery who
heard this familiarity were scandalized, and hurried
to make no end of apology to the Prince, saying,
"Softy was born so, God made him so. Please,
Your Excellency, forgive him." The Prince for-
gave him and so he was not disturbed.

Yi RYUK.

XLIII

THE PROPITIOUS MAGPIE

PEOPLE say that when the magpie builds its nest
directly south of a home that the master of the
house will be promoted in office. King T'ai-jong
had a friend once who was very poor and had failed
in all his projects. After various fruitless attempts
he decided to wait till the King went out on pro-
cession and then to send a servant to build an imita-
tion magpie's nest in some propitious place before
him. The King saw it and asked the man what he
was doing. He said in reply that when a magpie
builds its nest straight south of a home the master
of the house instantly gets promotion. His master,
he said, had waited so long and nothing had come,
that he was building an imitation nest to bring it
about. The King took pity on him and ordered
his appointment at once.

When I was young myself a magpie built its nest
before our home, but I, along with other boys, cut
off the branch so that the whole nest fell to the
ground, and there were the young with their pitiful
yellow mouths. I felt sorry and afraid that they

200

THE PROPITIOUS MAGPIE 201

would die, so on a propitious site to the south I had
the nest hung up on a neutie tree, where the young
all lived and flourished and flew away. In that
very winter my father was promoted three degrees
in rank and was attached to the office of the Prime
Minister.

Afterwards I built a summer-house at Chong-pa,
and before the house, directly facing south, magpies
built a nest in a date tree. I had a woman slave,
and she pulled it down and used the nest for fuel,
but they came again the next year and built once
more. The year following was 1469 when Ye-jong
came to the throne. That year again I was pro-
moted. In the spring of 1471 magpies came and
built their nest in a tree just south of my office.
I laughed and said, "There is a spiritual power in
the magpie surely, as men have said from olden
times and as I myself have proven."

Yi RYUK.

XLIV

THE "OLD BUDDHA"

PRIME MINISTER CHOI YUN-TOK was in mourn-
ing once for his mother. With a single horse and
one servant he made a journey to the south where
the road led through the county of Kai-ryong. At
that very time two or three of the district magis-
trates had pitched a tent on the bank of the river
and were having refreshments. They said to one
another, "Who is that mourner that goes riding by
without dismounting ? It must be some country
farmer who has never learned proper manners. We
shall certainly have to teach him a lesson."

They sent an attendant to arrest and bring his
servant, whom they asked, " Who is your master ? "

He replied, "Choi, the Old Buddha."

" But what's his real name ? " they demanded.

"The old Buddha," was the reply.

Then they grew very angry at this, and said,
"Your master has offended in not dismounting,
and you offend in concealing his name. Both slave
and master are equally ill-mannered." And so they

beat him over the head.

202

THE 'OLD BUDDHA' 203

Then the servant said slowly, " He is called Choi
the Buddha, but his real name is Yun-tok, and he
is now on his way to his country home in Chang-
won." At once they recognized that it was no other
than the Prime Minister, and great fear overcame
them. They struck their tent, cleared away the
eatables, and ran to make their deepest salaam and
to ask pardon for their sin.

The old Buddha was a special name by which
this famous minister was known.

Yi RYUK.

XLV

A WONDERFUL MEDICINE

PRINCE CHEUNG had been First Minister of the
land for thirty years. He was a man just and
upright, now nearly ninety years of age. His son
was called Whal, and was second in influence only
to his father. Both were greatly renowned in the
age in which they lived, and His Majesty treated
them with special regard. Prince Cheung's home
was suddenly attacked by goblins and devils, and
when a young official came to call on him, these
mysterious beings in broad daylight snatched the
hat from his head and crumpled it up. They threw
stones, too, and kept on throwing them so that all
the court was reduced to confusion. Prince Cheung
made his escape and went to live in another house,
where he prepared a special medicine called sal-
kwi-whan (kill-devil-pills), which he offered in
prayer. From that time the goblins departed, and
now after five or six years no sign of them has
reappeared. Prince Cheung, too, is well and strong
and free from sickness.

Yi RYUK.

204

XLVI

FAITHFUL MO

PRINCE HA had a slave who was a landed pro-
prieter and lived in Yang-ju county. He had a
daughter, fairest of the fair, whom he called Mo
(Nobody), beautiful beyond expression. An Yun
was a noted scholar, a man of distinction in letters.
He saw Mo, fell in love with her and took her for
his wife. Prince Ha heard of this and was furiously
angry. Said he, " How is it that you, a slave, dare
to marry with a man of the aristocracy ? " He had
her arrested and brought home, intending to marry
her to one of his bondsmen. Mo learned of this
with tears and sorrow, but knew not what to do.
At last she made her escape over the wall and went
back to An. An was delighted beyond expression
to see her; but, in view of the old prince, he knew
not what to do. Together they took an oath to die
rather than to be parted.

Later Prince Ha, on learning of this, sent his
underlings to arrest her again and carry her off.

After this all trace of her was lost till Mo was dis-

205

206 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

covered one day in a room hanging by the neck
dead.

Months of sorrow passed over An till once, under
cover of the night, he was returning from the Con-
fucian Temple to his house over the ridge of Camel
Mountain. It was early autumn and the wooded
tops were shimmering in the moonlight. All the
world had sunk softly to rest and no passers were
on the way. An was just then musing longingly
of Mo, and in heartbroken accents repeating love
verses to her memory, when suddenly a soft footfall
was heard as though coming from among the pines.
He took careful notice and there was Mo. An knew
that she was long dead, and so must have known
that it was her spirit, but because he was so buried
in thought of her, doubting nothing, he ran to her
and caught her by the hand, saying, " How did you
come here ? " but she disappeared. An gave a
great cry and broke into tears. On account of this
he fell ill. He ate, but his grief was so great he
could not swallow, and a little later he died of a
broken heart.

Kim Champan, who was of the same age as I,
and my special friend, was also a cousin of An, and
he frequently spoke of this. Yu Hyo-jang, also,
An's nephew by marriage, told the story many
times. Said he, "Faithful unto death was she.
For even a woman of the literati, who has been born

FAITHFUL MO 207

and brought up at the gates of ceremonial form,
it is a difficult matter enough to die, but for a slave,
the lowest of the low, who knew not the first thing
of Ceremony, Righteousness, Truth or Devotion,
what about her? To the end, out of love for her
husband, she held fast to her purity and yielded
up her life without a blemish. Even of the faithful
among the ancients was there ever a better than
Mo?"

Yi RYUK.

XL VI I

THE RENOWNED MAING

MINISTER of State Maing Sa-song once upon a
time, dressed in plain clothes, started south on a
long journey. On the way he was overtaken by
rain, and turned into a side pavilion for rest and
shelter. There was a young scholar already in the
pavilion by the name of Whang Eui-hon, who with
his two hands behind his back was reading the
pavilion inscription board, on which verses were
written. Long he read and long he looked about
as though no one else were there. At last he turned
to the old man, and said, " Well, grand-dad, do you
know the flavour of verses like these?" The
famous Minister, pretending ignorance, arose and
said, "An old countryman like myself, could you
expect him to know? Please tell me the
meaning."

Whang said, "These verses were written by the
great men of the past. What they saw and experi-
enced they wrote down to inspire the souls of those

who were to come after them. They are like pic-

208

THE RENOWNED MAING 209

tures of sea and land, for there are living pictures
in poetry, you know."

The Minister said, "Indeed, that's wonderful;
but if it were not for men like yourself how should
I ever come to know these things ? "

A little later came pack-horses loaded with all
sorts of things ; servants and retainers, too, a great
company of them, tent poles, canvas packs and
other equipment, a long procession.

Whang, surprised by this, made inquiry, when,
to his amazement, he learned that the old man was
none other than Maing Sa-song. Unconsciously
he dropped on to his knees in a deep and long
obeisance. The Minister laughed and said, "That
will do; there is no difference in the value of mere
men, they are high or low according to the thoughts
that prompt them, but unfortunately all are born
with a proud heart. You are not a common scholar,
why, therefore, should you be so proud to begin
with. and so humble now?" The Minister took
him by the hand, led him to his mat, made him sit
down, comforted him and sent him away.

Yi RYUK.

XLVIII
THE SENSES

THE eyes are round like gems, so that they can
roll about and see things; the ears have holes in
them so that they can hear; the nose has openings
by which it can perceive smell; and the mouth is
horizontal and slit so that it can inhale and exhale
the breath ; the tongue is like an organ reed so that
it can make sounds and talk. Three of the four have
each their particular office to fulfil, while the mouth
has two offices. But the member that distinguishes
the good from the bad is the heart, so that without
the heart, even though you have eyes you cannot
see, though you have ears you cannot hear, though
you have a nose you cannot smell, and though you
have a mouth you cannot breathe, so they say that
without the heart "seeing you cannot see, and
hearing you cannot hear."

Yi RYUK.

210

XLIX

WHO DECIDES, GOD OR THE KING?

KING TAI-JONG was having a rest in Heung-yang
Palace, while outside two eunuchs were talking
together over the law that governs the affairs of
men, as to whether it is man or God. A said,
"Riches and honour are all in the king's hand."
B said, " Nothing of the kind ; every atom of wealth
and every degree of promotion are all ordered of
God. Even the king himself has no part in it and
no power."

So they argued, each that he was right, without
ever coming to an agreement.

The King, overhearing what was said, wrote a
secret despatch, saying, "Raise the Bearer of this
letter one degree in rank." He sealed it and com-
manded A to take it to Se-jong, who was then in
charge of this office. A made his bow and de-
parted, but just when he was about to leave the
palace enclosure a furious pain took him in the
stomach, so that he begged B to take his place and
go into the city.

The next day, when the record of promotions

211

212 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

was placed before the King, he read how B had
been advanced, but not one word was there about A.
King Tai-jong made inquiry, and when he knew
the circumstances he gave a sudden start of wonder
and remained long in deep thought.

Yi RYUK.

THREE THINGS MASTERED

THERE was a relative of the king, named Im
Sung-jong, who was a gifted man in thought and
purpose. He was the first performer of his time
on the harp. King Se-jong said of him, "Im's
harp knows but one master, and follows no other
man."

His home was outside the South Gate, and every
morning he was seen kneeling on the sill of his
front door beating his hands upwards and down-
wards on his knees, and this practice he carried on
for three years. People could not imagine what
he meant by it, but thought him mad. Thus he
learned the motions required for the harp.

Also he blew with his mouth and practised with
his fingers day and night without stopping, so that
when people called on him he would see them but
would not perceive them. He kept this up for three
years and so learned the motions for the flute.

He was a lightly built man in body, and poor
at riding and at archery. He often sighed over
this defect, and said, "Though I am weak and

213

214 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

stupid and not able to shoot a long distance, I shall
yet know how to hit the target and make the bull's-
eye. This also must be acquired by practice."
So every morning he took his bow and arrows and
went off into the hills. There he shot all day long,
keeping it up for three years, till he became a
renowned archer. Thus you may perceive the kind
of man he was.

Yi RYUK.

LI

STRANGELY STRICKEN DEAD

THERE was once a man called Kim Tok-saing,
a soldier of fortune, who had been specially
honoured at the Court of Tai-jong. He had several
times been generalissimo of the army, and on his
various campaigns had had an intimate friend
accompany him, a friend whom he greatly loved.
But Kim had been dead now for some ten years
and more, when one night this friend of his was
awakened with a start and gave a great outcry.
He slept again, but a little later was disturbed once
more by a fright, at which he called out. His wife,
not liking this, inquired as to what he meant.
The friend said, "I have just seen General Kim
riding on a white horse, with bow and arrows at
his belt. He called to me and said, ' A thief has
just entered my home, and I have come to shoot
him dead.' He went and again returned, and as
he drew an arrow from his quiver, I saw that there
were blood marks on it. He said, ' I have just shot
him, he is dead.' ' The husband and wife in fear

and wonder talked over it together.

215

216 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

When morning came the friend went to General
Kim's former home to make inquiry. He learned
that that very night Kim's young widow had
decided to remarry, but as soon as the chosen
fiancee had entered her home, a terrible pain shot
him through, and before morning came he died in
great agony.

Yi RYUK.

LII

THE MYSTERIOUS HOI TREE

PRINCE PA-SONG'S house was situated just inside
of the great East Gate, and before it was a large
Hoi tree. On a certain night the Prince's son-in-
law was passing by the roadway that led in front
of the archers' pavilion. There he saw a great
company of bowmen, more than he could number,
all shooting together at the target. A moment
later he saw them practising riding, some throwing
spears, some hurling bowls, some shooting from
horseback, so that the road in front of the pavilion
was blocked against all comers. Some shouted as
he came by, " Look at that impudent rascal ! He
attempts to ride by without dismounting." They
caught him and beat him, paying no attention to
his cries for mercy, and having no pity for the
pain he suffered, till one tall fellow came out of
their serried ranks and said in an angry voice to
the crowd, "He is my master; why do you treat
him so?" He undid his bonds, took him by the
arm and led him home. When the son-in-law

reached the gate he looked back and saw the man

217

218 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

walk under the Hoi tree and disappear. He then
learned, too, that all the crowd of archers were
spirits and not men, and that the tall one who had
befriended him was a spirit too, and that he had
come forth from their particular Hoi tree.

Yi RYUK.

LIII

TA-HONG

[SlM HEUI-SU studied as a young man at the feet
of No Su-sin, who was sent as an exile to a distant
island in the sea. Thither he followed his master
and worked at the Sacred Books. He matriculated
in 1570 and graduated in 1572. In 1589 he remon-
strated with King Son-jo over the disorders of his
reign, and was the means of quelling a great
national disturbance ; but he made a faux pas one
day when he said laughingly to a friend —

"These sea-gull waves ride so high,
Who can tame them?"

Those who heard caught at this, and it became
a source of unpopularity, as it indicated an un-
favourable opinion of the Court.

In 1592, when the King made his escape to
Eui-ju, before the invading Japanese army, he was
the State's Chief Secretary, and after the return of
the King he became Chief Justice. He resigned
office, but the King refused to accept his resigna-
tion, saying, "I cannot do without you." He

219

220 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

became chief of the literati and Special Adviser.
Afterwards he became Minister of the Right, then
of the Left, at which time he wrote out ten sugges-
tions for His Majesty to follow. He saw the
wrongs done around the King, and resigned office
again and again, but was constantly recalled.

In 1608 Im Suk-yong, a young candidate writing
for his matriculation, wrote an essay exposing the
wrongs of the Court. Sim heard of this, and took
the young man under his protection. The King,
reading the essay, was furiously angry, and ordered
the degradation of Im, but Sim said, "He is with
me; I am behind what he wrote and approve;
degrade me and not him," and so the King with-
drew his displeasure. He was faithful of the
faithful.

When he was old he went and lived in Tun-san
in a little tumble-down hut, like the poorest of
the literati. He called himself "Water-thunder
Muddy-man," a name derived from the Book of
Changes.

He died in 1622 at the age of seventy-four, and
is recorded as one of Korea's great patriots.]

The Story

Minister Sim Heui-su was, when young, hand-
some as polished marble, and white as the snow,
rarely and beautifully formed. When eight years

TA-HONG 221

of age he was already an adept at the character,
and a wonder in the eyes of his people. The boy's
nickname was Soondong (the godlike one). From
the passing of his first examination, step by step
he advanced, till at last he became First Minister
of the land. When old he was honoured as the
most renowned of all ministers. At seventy he
still held office, and one day, when occupied with
the affairs of State, he suddenly said to those
about him, "To-day is my last on earth, and my
farewell wishes to you all are that you may prosper
and do bravely and well."

His associates replied in wonder, "Your Excel-
lency is still strong and hearty, and able for many
years of work ;> why do you speak so ? "

Sim laughingly made answer, "Our span of life
is fixed. Why should I not know? We cannot
pass the predestined limit. Please feel no regret.
Use all your efforts to serve His Majesty the King,
and make grateful acknowledgment of his many
favours."

Thus he exhorted them, and took his departure.
Every one wondered over this strange announce-
ment. From that day on he returned no more, it
being said that he was ailing.

There was at that time attached to the War Office
a young secretary directly under Sim. Hearing
that his master was ill, the young man went to pay

222 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

his respects and to make inquiry. Sim called him
into his private room, where all was quiet. Said
he, " I am about to die, and this is a long farewell,
so take good care of yourself, and do your part
honourably."

The young man looked, and in Sim's eyes were
tears. He said, "Your Excellency is still vigorous,
and even though you are slightly ailing, there is
surely no cause for anxiety. I am at a loss to
understand your tears, and what you mean by
saying that you are about to die. I would like to
ask the reason."

Sim smiled and said, "I have never told any
person, but since you ask and there is no longer
cause for concealment, I shall tell you the whole
story. When I was young certain things hap-
pened in my life that may make you smile.

"At about sixteen years of age I was said to be a
handsome boy and fair to see. Once in Seoul,
when a banquet was in progress and many danc-
ing-girls and other representatives of good cheer
were called, I went too, with a half-dozen comrades,
to see. There was among the dancing-girls a
young woman whose face was very beautiful. She
was not like an earthly person, but like some
angelic being. Inquiring as to her name, some
of those seated near said it was Ta-hong (Flower-
bud).

TA-HONG 223

" When all was over and the guests had separated,
I went home, but I thought of Ta-hong's pretty
face, and recalled her repeatedly, over and over;
seemingly I could not forget her. Ten days or so
later I was returning from my teacher's house
along the main street, carrying my books under
my arm, when I suddenly met a pretty girl, who
was beautifully dressed and riding a handsome
horse. She alighted just in front of me, and to my
surprise, taking my hand, said, ' Are you not Sim
Heui-su ? '

"In my astonishment I looked at her and saw
that it was Ta-hong. I said, ' Yes, but how do
you know me ? ' I was not married then, nor had
I my hair done up, and as there were many people
in the street looking on I was very much ashamed.
Flower-bud, with a look of gladness in her face,
said to her pony-boy, ' I have something to see to
just now; you return and say to the master that I
shall be present at the banquet to-morrow.' Then
we went aside into a neighbouring house and sat
down. She said, ' Did you not on such and such
a day go to such and such a Minister's house and
look on at the gathering ? ' I answered, ' Yes, I
did.' ' I saw you,' said she, ' and to me your face
was like a god's. I asked those present who you
were, and they said your family name was Sim
and your given-name Heui-su, and that your

224 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

character and gifts were very superior. From that
day on I longed to meet you, but as there was
no possibility of this I could only think of you.
Our meeting thus is surely of God's appointment.'

"I replied laughingly, ' I, too, felt just the same
towards you.'

"Then Ta-hong said, 'We cannot meet here;
let's go to my aunt's home in the next ward, where
it's quiet, and talk there.' We went to the aunt's
home. It was neat and clean and somewhat
isolated, and apparently the aunt loved Flower-
bud with all the devotion of a mother. From that
day forth we plighted our troth together. Flower-
bud had never had a lover ; I was her first and only
choice. She said, however, ' This plan of ours
cannot be consummated to-day; let us separate for
the present and make plans for our union in the
future.' I asked her how we could do so, and she
replied, ' I have sworn my soul to you, and it is
decided for ever, but you have your parents to
think of, and you have not yet had a wife chosen,
so there will be no chance of their advising you to
have a second wife as my social standing would
require for me. As I reflect upon your ability
and chances for promotion, I see you already a
Minister of State. Let us separate just now, and
I'll keep myself for you till the time when you win
the first place at the Examination and have your

TA-HONG 225

three days of public rejoicing. Then we'll meet
once more. Let us make a compact never to be
broken. So then, until you have won your
honours, do not think of me, please. Do not be
anxious, either, lest I should be taken from you,
for I have a plan by which to hide myself away
in safety. Know that on the day when you win
your honours we shall meet again.'

"On this we clasped hands and spoke our fare-
wells as though we parted easily. Where she was
going I did not ask, but simply came home with a
distressed and burdened heart, feeling that I had
lost everything. On my return I found that my
parents, who had missed me, were in a terrible
state of consternation, but so delighted were they
at my safe return that they scarcely asked where I
had been. I did not tell them either, but gave
another excuse.

"At first I could not desist from thoughts of
Ta-hong. After a long time only was I able to
regain my composure. From that time forth with
all my might I went at my lessons. Day and night
I pegged away, not for the sake of the Examination,
but for the sake of once more meeting her.

"In two years or so my parents appointed my
marriage. I did not dare to refuse, had to accept,
but had no heart in it, and no joy in their choice.

"My gift for study was very marked, and by
Q

226 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

diligence I grew to be superior to all my com-
petitors. It was five years after my farewell to
Ta-hong that I won my honours. I was still but
a youngster, and all the world rejoiced in my
success. But my joy was in the secret under-
standing that the time had come for me to meet
Ta-hong. On the first day of my graduation
honours I expected to meet her, but did not. The
second day passed, but I saw nothing of her, and
the third day was passing and no word had reached
me. My heart was so disturbed that I found not
the slightest joy in the honours of the occasion.
Evening was falling, when my father said to me,
' I have a friend of my younger days, who now
lives in Chang-eui ward, and you must go and call
on him this evening before the three days are over,'
and so, there being no help for it, I went to pay my
call. As I was returning the sun had gone down
and it was dark, and just as I was passing a high
gateway, I heard the Sillai call.1 It was the home
of an old Minister, a man whom I did not know,
but he being a high noble there was nothing for
me to do but to dismount and enter. Here I found
the master himself, an old gentleman, who put me
through my humble exercises, and then ordered me
gently to come up and sit beside him. He talked

1 A shrill whistle by which graduates command the presence
of a new graduate to haze or honour, as they please.

TA-HONG 227

to me very kindly, and entertained me with all
sorts of refreshments. Then he lifted his glass
and inquired, ' Would you like to meet a very
beautiful person ? ' I did not know what he meant,
and so asked, ' What beautiful person ? ' The old
man said, ' The most beautiful in the world to you.
She has long been a member of my household.'
Then he ordered a servant to call her. When she
came it was my lost Ta-hong. I was startled,
delighted, surprised, and speechless almost. ' How
do you come here ? ' I gasped.

"She laughed and said, ' Is this not within the
three days of your public celebration, and according
to the agreement by which we parted ? '

"The old man said, ' She is a wonderful woman.
Her thoughts are high and noble, and her history
is quite unique. I will tell it to you. I am an
old man of eighty, and my wife and I have had
no children, but on a certain day this young
girl came to us saying, "May I have the place
of slave with you, to wait on you and do your
bidding?"

" ' In surprise I asked the reason for this strange
request, and she said, " I am not running away
from any master, so do not mistrust me."

" ' Still, I did not wish to take her in, and told
her so, but she begged so persuasively that I
yielded and let her stay, appointed her work to do,
Q 2

and watched her behaviour. She became a slave
of her own accord, and simply lived to please us,
preparing our meals during the day, and caring
for our rooms for the night; responding to calls;
ever ready to do our bidding; faithful beyond
compare. We feeble old folks, often ill, found her
a source of comfort and cheer unheard of, making
life perfect peace and joy. Her needle, too, was
exceedingly skilful, and according to the seasons
she prepared all that we needed. Naturally we
loved and pitied her more than I can say. My
wife thought more of her than ever mother did of
a daughter. During the day she was always at
hand, and at night she slept by her side. At one
time I asked her quietly concerning her past
history. She said she was originally the child of
a free-man, but that her parents had died when
she was very young, and, having no place to go to,
an old woman of the village had taken her in and
brought her up. "Being so young," said she, "I
was safe from harm. At last I met a young master
with whom I plighted a hundred years of troth, a
beautiful boy, none was ever like him. I deter-
mined to meet him again, but only after he had
won his honours in the arena. If I had remained
at the home of the old mother I could not have
kept myself safe, and preserved my honour; I
would have been helpless ; so I came here for safety

TA-HONG 229

and to serve you. It is a plan by which to hide
myself for a year or so, and then when he wins
I shall ask your leave to go."

" ' I then asked who the person was with whom
she had made this contract, and she told me your
name. I am so old that I no longer think of taking
wives and concubines, but she called herself my
concubine so as to be safe, and thus the years have
passed. We watched the Examination reports, but
till this time your name was absent. Through it
all she expressed not a single word of anxiety, but
kept up heart saying that before long your name
would appear. So confident was she that not a
shadow of disappointment was in her face. This
time on looking over the list I found your name,
and told her. She heard it without any special
manifestation of joy, saying she knew it would
come. She also said, "When we parted I promised
to meet him before the three days of public celebra-
tion were over, and now I must make good my
promise." So she climbed to the upper pavilion
to watch the public way. But this ward being
somewhat remote she did not see you going by on
the first day, nor on the second. This morning
she went again, saying, "He will surely pass to-
day " ; and so it came about. She said, " He is
coming; call him in."

" ' I am an old man and have read much history,

230 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

and have heard of many famous women. There
are many examples of devotion that move the heart,
but I never saw so faithful a life nor one so devoted
to another. God taking note of this has brought
all her purposes to pass. And now, not to let this
moment of joy go by, you must stay with me to-
night.'

"When I met Ta-hong I was most happy,
especially as I heard of her years of faithfulness.
As to the invitation I declined it, saying I could not
think, even though we had so agreed, of taking away
one who waited in attendance upon His Excellency.
But the old man laughed, saying, ' She is not
mine. I simply let her be called my concubine in
name lest my nephews or some younger members
of the clan should steal her away. She is first of
all a faithful woman : I have not known her like
before.'

"The old man then had the horse sent back and
the servants, also a letter to my parents saying that
I would stay the night. He ordered the servants
to prepare a room, to put in beautiful screens and
embroidered matting, to hang up lights and to
decorate as for a bridegroom. Thus he celebrated
our meeting.

"Next morning I bade good-bye, and went and
told my parents all about my meeting with Ta-hong
and what had happened. They gave consent that

TA-HONG 231

I should have her, and she was brought and made
a member of our family, really my only wife.

" Her life and behaviour being beyond that of the
ordinary, in serving those above her and in helping
those below, she fulfilled all the requirements of
the ancient code. Her work, too, was faithfully
done, and her gifts in the way of music and chess
were most exceptional. I loved her as I never can
tell.

"A little later I went as magistrate to Keumsan
county in Chulla Province, and Ta-hong went with
me. We were there for two years. She declined
our too frequent happy times together, saying that
it interfered with efficiency and duty. One day, all
unexpectedly, she came to me and requested that
we should have a little quiet time, with no others
present, as she had something special to tell me. I
asked her what it was, and she said to me, ' I am
going to die, for my span of life is finished ; so let
us be glad once more and forget all the sorrows of
the world.' I wondered when I heard this. I could
not think it true, and asked her how she could tell
beforehand that she was going to die. She said,
' I know, there is no mistake about it.'

"In four or five days she fell ill, but not seri-
ously, and yet a day or two later she died. She
said to me when dying, ' Our life is ordered, God
decides it all. While I lived I gave myself to you,

282 KOREAN IMPS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES

and you most kindly responded in return. I have
no regrets. As I die I ask only that my body be
buried where it may rest by the side of my master
when he passes away, so that when we meet in the
regions beyond I shall be with you once again.'
When she had so said she died.

"Her face was beautiful, not like the face of the
dead, but like the face of the living. I was plunged
into deepest grief, prepared her body with my own
hands for burial. Our custom is that when a
second wife dies she is not buried with the family,
but I made some excuse and had her interred in our
family site in the county of Ko-yang. I did so
to carry out her wishes. When I came as far as
Keum-chang on my sad journey, I wrote a verse—

' O beautiful Bud, of the beautiful Flower,
We bear thy form on the willow bier ;
Whither has gone thy sweet perfumed soul?

The rains fall on us
To tell us of thy tears and of thy faithful way.'

"I wrote this as a love tribute to my faithful
Ta-hong. After her death, whenever anything
serious was to happen in my home, she always
came to tell me beforehand, and never was there
a mistake in her announcements. For several
years it has continued thus, till a few days ago she
appeared in a dream saying, ' Master, the time of
your departure has come, and we are to meet again.

TA-HONG 283

I am now making ready for your glad recep-
tion.'

"For this reason I have bidden all my associates
farewell. Last night she came once more and said
to me, ' To-morrow is your day.' We wept to-
gether in the dream as we met and talked. In the
morning, when I awoke, marks of tears were still
upon my cheeks. This is not because I fear to die,
but because I have seen my Ta-hong. Now that
you have asked me I have told you all. Tell it to
no one." So Sim died, as was foretold, on the
day following. Strange, indeed !

IM BANG.

THE END

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